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Coaster 720 GT l Dell Quay Ranger 27 l Corrosion Sprays

DECEMBER 2015

MY BOAT

OwnerA�ordable practical boating

Motorboat

Coronet 270

Caledonian Canal CRUISING

October 2013

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Motorboat OwnerDigital Marine Media LtdSuite 6 Philpot House,Station Road,Rayleigh, Essex SS6 7HH t: 01268 922991editorial@motorboatowner.co.uk

contact usEditor, Neale Byart01268 922992neale@motorboatowner.co.uk

Associate Editor, Claire Frew01268 922993 claire@motorboatowner.co.uk

Sub Editor, Pam BornProduction Editor, John Frew

Advertising: 01268 922994Brokerage, classified & displayAdvertising Manager, John Stewardadvertising@motorboatowner.co.uk

Subscriptions: 01268 922991 subscriptions@motorboatowner.co.uk

Contributors:Mark Hammond, Adrian Waddams, Paul Byart, Julian Gregory, Pam Born, Tally Clift, Richard Poat

Welcome to the December issue. Despite an almost balmy start to November, this last week has seen the weather turn much more seasonal, which can only mean one thing, it’s time to start thinking about protecting your boat against the winter weather. We have tagged onto the end of this issue our winterising feature, in case you missed it the first time around. Whether you are laying up, or

staying in commission, there are jobs you can do to ensure that your boat remains in tip top condition. Elsewhere in this issue we have our first ever multi-product test. As part of your winterising regime you might want to coat your mechanicals with a protective spray, but which one should you go for? We can answer that question after putting 12 leading sprays up against each other.

The results are interesting and you can find out which one was awarded our ‘Best in Test’ accolade on page 26. We also bring you a ‘bucket list’ cruising account of a trip through the Caledonian Canal, and we have a test of one of the most interesting new boats launched at the 2015 Southampton Boat Show, the clever little Coaster 720GT. Now that our project boat is waterworthy, I have found myself at a bit of a loose end. Cue another hopeless cause, an old two-stroke outboard, that should help keep me out of mischief during the winter months. On the subject of our project boat, we have produced a special issue that contains all of the project boat features, from buying through to launching. This is available in our back issues section. In the meantime, if you get snow, please do send us your winter boating pictures, we would love to see them.From the Editor

Caledonian Dreaming. A ‘bucket list’ cruising account on page 14

Motorboat Owner © Digital Marine Media Ltd 3 2 December 2015

CLASSIC CRUISER GUIDE

CONTENTS

Motorboat Owner © Digital Marine Media Ltd 5

DECEMBER 2015

page 14 CruisingCaledonian Canal

page 50 My BoatCoronet 270 Family

AppendixWinterising

CLASSIC CRUISER GUIDE

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If you have news from your region, email us ateditorial@motorboatowner.co.ukNEWS

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EssentialON DECK

On Tuesday 17th November, in the full force of Storm Barney, the Poole RNLI co-ordinated the rescue of a sportscruiser which had broken free of its mooring in Poole Harbour. The Bayliner 285 had been washed up onto the rocks at South Haven Point, on the south side of the chain ferry slipway at the entrance of the harbour. Although it was secure, it was felt that in the worsening conditions it would break up if left. Two lifeboats, as well as the Swanage Mobile Coastguard Unit were on scene as the boat was pulled off the rocks and, now taking on water, was towed to Parkstone Bay Marina, where it was promptly lifted out.

Poole sportscruiser breaks free during Storm Barney

Paul Lo

vesy/RN

LI

In light of fatalities and injuries that have taken place on boats across the UK in recent years, the Boat Safety Scheme (BSS) have warned of the risks of using petrol generators incorrectly. Petrol generators provide power for items such as heaters and televisions, but emit deadly carbon monoxide and need refuelling with highly flammable petrol. BSS Manager, Graham Watts says, “On too many occasions we hear of fatalities, or near fatalities, caused by the incorrect

use of portable generators. The heart-breaking thing is that on most occasions the accident could have been avoided, and lives saved, if generators were used according to manufacturer’s instructions, in the open and away from the boat.” The BSS advise the following: generators ‘must never be run in an enclosed cockpit area or engine space, or used on or close to the boat where exhaust fumes could enter the boat. Never install a portable generator permanently or make unauthorised modifications that are not supported by the manufacturer, or proprietary component supplier. If you can smell exhaust fumes in the boat, it could mean the cabin is also filling with deadly carbon monoxide. Never refuel a generator onboard the boat, take it to the bank and ensure you are a safe distance from other boats and potential sources of ignition.’ Further advice for boaters on staying safe using generators is available on the BSS website.

BSS warn of the dangers of portable generators

Geoff Holt MBE, has won a £50,000 prize for his company WetWheels. He was one of three short-listed finalists in the Stelios Award for Disabled Entrepreneurs 2015, run by easyJet founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou and charity Leonard Cheshire Disability. WetWheels provides boating opportunities for people of all ages and abilities. Geoff Holt, said, “I am deeply honoured to have been chosen by Sir Stelios and the award will really give us the chance to expand our services for disabled people. Over the years I have witnessed thousands of disabled people of all ages enjoy our boats and services. It doesn’t matter if that is on a sail boat or a motor boat; it is being on the water that makes the difference.”

WetWheels wins £50k prize

NEWS

8 December 2015

If you have news from your region, email us ateditorial@motorboatowner.co.uk

*Tickets full price from 08 January 2016. Offer ends midnight 07 January 2016 and excludes public preview day. A fee of £1.95 applies per transaction, not per ticket. †Terms and conditions apply. See londonboatshow.com for details. All information correct at time of going to press. E&OE.

WHERE ADVENTURE STARTS,PIONEERS MEET & INNOVATION SHINES

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The Canal & River Trust has launched a new inland mooring search website, called Waterside Mooring. It enables boaters to search for vacant leisure and residential moorings across the Canal & River Trusts 3500 long-term, permanent moorings throughout England and Wales, over 2000 miles of inland waterways, including canals, rivers and docks. Visitors to the website can search for a mooring by place name, or waterway or see availability on a map or list view. Moorings can be acquired by auction, buy it now or for short-term occupancy. There are currently 162 moorings available now on the website.

New Inland mooring search website

New Solent live weather websiteIridium-based satellite tracking and communication company Rock Seven, has launched a new weather website for Solent boaters. Rock7.com/wind, provides real-time weather, with wind, air pressure, temperature data and trends, from port hand marker, Calshot Spit off Southampton Water. The weather station is managed by ABP Southampton and is fitted with instrumentation from Hydrosphere and Gill.

Nimbus 405Flybridge NEW BOAT

This new Swedish 40ft flybridge made its debut earlier this year at the Stockholm Boat Show. It’s based on the 405 Coupé flagship with an asymmetrical deck layout and three separate cabins, offering 6-8 berths. The UK dealer is Offshore Powerboats in Lymington and prices start at £390,717 with twin Volvo D4 225hp diesels.

The new Calshot weather station provides weather actuals and trend data from the Southampton approaches

If you have news from your region, email us ateditorial@motorboatowner.co.ukNEWS

10 December 2015

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Motorboat Owner

www.motorboatowner.co.uk Motorboat Owner

www.motorboatowner.co.uk Back issuesavailable at

Increased berthing capacity in Portsmouth marina

An extra 18 berths, suitable for boats of up to 10m, have been added to Royal Clarence Marina, Gosport. The new berths have been created with the installation of nine new finger pontoons, replacing some of the alongside berths. The marina now has 150 berths and is run by Castle Marinas Ltd, which owns seven marinas in the UK, including five inland waterways marinas and two coastal marinas, Birdham Pool Marina in Chichester Harbour and Royal Clarence Marina in Portsmouth Harbour.

New chandlery opens in PlymouthA new chandlery Captain Watts Yacht Supplies has opened its doors at Mayflower Marina in Plymouth. Its name pays homage to Captain O M Watts stores, originally based in Mayfair London and Salcombe, and a small team hope ‘to recapture a traditional buying experience’ offering advice, as well as online shopping.

IN BRIEF

To help tackle crime on the Norfolk Broads, the Norfolk Constabulary has launched a new intiative called BoatShield. Its members receive advice on boat security products and methods, and also the latest news on crimes on and around the Norfolk Broads. Local businesses, including boatyards, chandlers and boating clubs are also being encouraged to become BoatShield Information Points for the scheme. The Broads Beat Team Inspector, Teresa Eagleton said: “I want boat owners to enjoy Norfolk’s beautiful waterways, but I also want them to be safe and secure and I urge them to join the BoatShield initiative. Signing up to it sends out a strong message to thieves that people with the BoatShield emblem have taken steps to secure their boat, and at the same time it will help boat owners to be aware of the risks.” The scheme is particularly relevant at this time of year, when boats are often locked up and left unattended over the winter months. For more information on how to take part, call the Broads Beat team on 101. Updates are also available via Twitter from @Broadsbeat.

BoatShield crime initiative for the Broads

The Port of London Authority (PLA) advise that any vessel over 13.7m must carry a VHF radio below Brentford on the Thames tideway, this is to monitor and contact ‘London Vessel Traffic Services’ (London VTS) on VHF channel 14. As a result, boaters can now hire a handheld VHF from Lindon Lewis Marine for £25 per week. Lindon Lewis is based at Shepperton Marina which is a useful stopover and claims to be the ‘last fuel point’ on the non-tidal Thames before the tideway. The chandlery provides the PLA “Leisure Users Guide”, tide tables and a

template for producing a passage plan, and its staff can offer advice and guidance on using the tideway. PLA Assistant Harbour Master, Jonathan Beckett said, “This is a very welcome initiative, which should be a massive help to those coming onto the tideway, whether for the first time or occasional visitors .” As an introductory offer Motorboat Owner readers can get this rental for £20 per week by quoting code MBOVHF16.

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@INBOX email: editorial@motorboatowner.co.uk

Motorboat Owner © Digital Marine Media Ltd 1312 December 2015

STAR LETTER

Mayland 20 project

As a recent subscriber to your great magazine, I have been eagerly looking through all of the back issues following the progress on your Mayland project boat Olive. It was so good to see her back on the water. I am totally new to the boating world, but undeterred I bought a Mayland 20 as a project for my first boat. What an experience it was, but also really satisfying. It was a lot of hard work sanding and filling before a complete re-spray. I sprayed it myself to keep costs down. New rubbers and polycarbonate windows, carpet inside, a new roof liner and new seats cost £497.65. The boat cost £2250 with a good 35hp Evinrude two stroke outboard. It was worth all the hard work. We launched the boat on the River Avon at Evesham in mid August and have had many great days out on her, and hopefully many more to come. Is there a Mayland owners club? There seems to be clubs for all other makes but not Mayland. Keep up the great work. Robert PowellEditor replies: Hello Robert, it’s great to hear of another Mayland being put back into service. Unfortunately I don’t believe there is a Mayland Owner’s club, perhaps we should start one! We have produced a ‘Project Boat’ special issue, with the whole story of our Mayland in one document. You can download it for free from the back issues section of our website.

Did they buy a Freeman?I’ve just been reading the My Boat story in the September 14, about the couple with the Corvette 320. They really fell in love with a Freeman 30, and as a fellow Freeman owner I really like the look of the 30 too. I see it is not for sale anymore. Did they buy it? Don HughesAssociate Editor replies: Thank you for getting in touch. It was love at first sight and Mark and Julie Clare bought a Freeman 30 last year, not the one featured but an aft cockpit version for sale at Newark Marina. They replaced the engines and renovated it over the winter months, and the boat was launched in time for Henley Royal Regatta. It is a beautiful boat.

Motorboat Owner © Digital Marine Media Ltd 2120 September 2014

Last month we announced our ambitious plan to go boating in 2015 with a budget of just £1,000. We’ve

made a good start and can now reveal what will be the Motorboat Owner £1k boat. We looked at many different options, from Fairline to Shetland. Some came with trailers, some with an engine, but they all had one thing in common, they needed work. In many cases, the cost of this work would have taken us well over our budget.

The boat that really caught my eye though, was a Mayland 16, and it did so for two reasons. Firstly, I have fond childhood memories of day trips out on our Mayland 14, bought brand new from the London Boat Show in the early 70’s (see photo). The second reason was that it was right on our doorstep in Essex, which meant going to view it was as easy as popping to the shops. It felt like it was meant to be. The Mayland was originally on eBay and we had placed a bid for it at that time but

were eventually beaten by a higher bid. For whatever reason the sale did not go through, and the boat came back onto the market. This allowed us to view and negotiate in person. The Mayland was being offered on a trailer, but without an engine. The price agreed, after a bit of haggling, was £450. This means we have spent just under half our budget, but we have obtained both a boat, and a trailer. So far, so good. The Mayland 16, boat number 3218,

Budget cruisers at Andy Seedhouse Boat Sales. Does your local boatyard have a bargain corner?

has a simulated clinker fibreglass hull. The topsides are in what we believe Mayland called ‘Olive’ and are still all original, albeit in quite a neglected state. The white hull has at some time been painted but is in reasonable condition. The boat is split roughly 50/50 between cockpit and cabin, the latter of which offers two berths in the bow, a very small separate toilet compartment which is currently missing its door, and a moulded area, optimistically described in the original

CHALLENGE£1KMotorboat

Owner

PROJECT Mayland 16

Caley CruisersTHE PERFECT WAY TO EXPLORE LOCH NESS

& THE CALEDONIAN CANAL

www.caleycruisers.com | 01463 236 328

Robert bought his project Mayland 20 for £2250

MY

BO

AT

Motorboat Owner © Digital Marine Media Ltd 55

54 September 2014

If you were torn between the joys of owning a traditional wooden boat and the lure of the sea, it would be very difficult to choose a boat. Throw a family into the mix and it’s the very dilemma Mark and Julie Clare have faced many times. Consequently, this intrepid couple have had a very impressive and diverse portfolio of boats over the years. A story that began in the 80’s on one ‘special’ river. Mark spent 10 years short service

commission in the Royal Navy but his first real experience of boating was renting a motorboat on the River Thames in his very early 20’s. He had always wanted his own boat and, after being left a bit of money by his mother in 1986, he bought his first one. Bates Hirefleet, based on the River Thames at Chertsey, had recently closed, and Mark had seen the whole fleet advertised for sale in a boating magazine. He visited the yard and purchased the 36ft

Royal Star for £10,000. It was an ex hireboat built by Ernest Collins on the Norfolk Broads, so it was very basic inside, and came fitted with a single Perkins 4-107 41hp diesel engine. Julie said “when I first saw her there was grass growing out from under the rotting decks, she was in a real state.” Inside, the boat offered a V berth in the bow, a spacious cockpit with a sliding roof and galley area, and an aft cockpit with two

single berths. “It had the most amazing full size cooker, it was wonderful” Julie recalls. “The beauty of this boat also was its low air draft. All we had to do was remove the wooden mast to get under Osney Bridge”. So, as a newly married couple they were able to explore the romantic upper reaches of the River Thames. The boat’s exterior colour scheme was blue and white, so the name Royal Blue “just worked” Mark said, and the boat

“There is just something about wooden boats, I love the smell of them”

Mark & Julie Clare’s boats

Motorboat Owner © Digital Marine Media Ltd 1514 December 2015

CRUISING Caledonian Canal Charter

needed was our provisions, which arrived shortly after courtesy of a Tesco van. Day 1 – Inverness - Urquhart HarbourOnce the briefings were over, it was time to embark on our adventure. We left the base in Inverness in convoy with other fleet boats and cruised the short distance

Highland Fling by Pam Born

When we retired last year, we drew up a ‘bucket list’ of the things that we wanted to do.

One was to travel from one end of the Caledonian Canal to the other, by boat. So we did a bit of research and booked a week’s charter with Caley Cruisers in Inverness in June. We chose Caley Cruisers because we were impressed by the quality and style of the boats they offered. Most were Brooms or Haines, fitted out by Caley Cruisers, to their own specifications. We were also impressed by their website, giving detailed information about the cruising area and

what to expect along the way. The quickest way to get to Inverness was to fly, so after a one and a half hour flight from Luton and a short taxi ride, we were at the boatyard early one Saturday morning in June. First there was the all-important and very thorough safety briefing to attend, after which, we were introduced to our boat, a Broom Ocean 38 called Balmoral. The boat was clean and comfortable, more akin to a private boat rather than a hire cruiser, and it had everything you could possibly need for our weeks stay, including bedding and a supply of lovely white towels. All we

along the canal to the first swing bridge, and then on to Dochgarroch Lock. At this point the Caley Cruiser staff, who were aboard boats with less experienced crews, waved us all goodbye on the lock side. Some crews had decided to stay at Dochgarroch Lock for the night, and this is always advisable if the weather on Loch

“The Scottish highlands are very special to us and cruising

the Caledonian Canal was an ambition that didn’t disappoint”

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Laggan Locks

L O C H N E S SInvergarry

L O C H L O C H YL O C H O I C H

Fort Augustus Urquhart Harbour

InvernessBanavie

Ben NevisFort

William

the boat, admiring the amazing scenery, delved into our Tesco supplies, and had an early night. Day 2 – Urquhart - InvergarryWe awoke to heavy rain, but this soon gave way to bright sunshine. In tranquil conditions, we departed Urquhart Harbour to traverse the length of Loch Ness to Fort Augustus, rounding the headland where Urquhart Castle stands dominant over the eastern end of the Loch. We had been warned about the unpredictability of the weather conditions on Loch Ness, and soon, a short white-capped chop began, followed fairly swiftly by Force 5 conditions with 2–3ft

waves in the centre of the Loch. All due, we were told, to the ‘funnelling’ effect of the weather down the Loch. We were completely engulfed by sea mist and rain, with a further 12 miles to go to Fort Augustus. Balmoral handled the conditions beautifully and we felt no danger as we plodded on at 6 knots, ploughing through the waves, unfazed. Astonishingly, as the Loch broadened and we approached Fort Augustus, the conditions changed dramatically. The wind died and we found ourselves, once again, in bright sunshine, perfect conditions for ascending the flight of five locks in the centre of the town. We hit Fort Augustus at just the right time. No sooner

Ness is inclement. As it was only mid-afternoon and the weather and conditions were good, we decided to push on into the open waters of Loch Ness and head for a little harbour in Urquhart Bay, just south of the village of Drumnadrochit. Urquhart Harbour is a delightfully tranquil and very sheltered basin where mooring fees are £10 per night and electric hook-up £4, paid for at a pay and display machine. All moorings in this harbour are stern-to, so it gave us a chance to practice our medi-mooring skills. The harbour is also home to a Fairline 40, aptly named Nessie Hunter, which runs regular trips out onto the loch to look for Nessie, and the Loch Ness research vessel, Deepscan. Although there is a taxi service from the harbour to the village and local restaurants such as Cobbs Restaurant at the Clansman Hotel, it had been an early start for us, and a very long and eventful day. We sat in the summer evening sunshine on the back of

Going up, the flight of five locks at Fort Augustus took us about an hour to traverse

Conditions changed dramatically on Loch Ness, and our charter boat handled it very well

Caledonian Canal The Caledonian Canal lies within the Great Glen, a massive fault line resulting from a tectonic tear in the earth’s crust over 300 million years ago, which virtually cuts Scotland into two parts. Running for approximately 60 miles, from Fort William on the west coast to Inverness on the east coast, the canal provides safe passage for vessels, avoiding the exposed waters of the northern coastline. With famous engineer Thomas Telford overseeing the construction, work began over 200 years ago and it took 21 years to complete. This massive feat of engineering, connects three huge, beautiful lochs, Loch Ness, Loch Oich and Lock Lochy, across some of the most dramatic and rugged scenery the UK has to offer.

There are 29 locks on the Canal. Above, the flight of five locks at Fort Augustus

Motorboat Owner © Digital Marine Media Ltd 1918 December 2015

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had we moored up on the long waiting pontoon, the Lock Keeper came down to meet us to give us instructions and, before we knew it, we were entering the first chamber with friendly lock staff taking our lines. Two crew stayed ashore with bow and stern lines and as each chamber filled, boats had to be physically pulled through into the next chamber. The good waiting pontoons above the locks gave us an opportunity to have a quick look around the town and get some supplies of Highland Whisky. We were back on the canal again with a further two locks to negotiate before we reached our intended destination of Invergarry, on Loch Oich. Linda, the jolly Lock Keeper at Kytra Lock, insisted on coming round to all the boats in the lock to give a gold star to everyone wearing

a lifejacket. We wore our gold stars with pride that afternoon. Once through Cullochy Lock, and the Aberchalder Swing Bridge, we were at the highest point of the canal and once again in open waters. It was just a short distance along Loch Oich, with some careful navigation via buoys, to our destination, a small pontoon directly under the tall, eerie ruins of Invergarry Castle, in the grounds of the Glengarry Castle Hotel. We shared this free mooring with another Caley Cruiser, a Broom Monarch. This is such a beautiful, peaceful spot, with high hills on the opposite bank extending up into the mist. Adjacent to our mooring pontoon was the sad and pitiful wreck of the ex-herring fishing vessel, Eala Bhan, which sunk here around five years ago. The grounds of the hotel are elegantly laid

out, with tiered terraces, a Lily pond and old stone pier. The hotel building itself is very imposing and would have been very grand in its day, with a coach house and stone bell tower. After first walking around the fenced off ruins of the castle, we ventured out of the grounds and crossed the bridge, over the fast flowing river, to the village. The Glengarry Castle Hotel comes highly recommended as an eatery but, sadly, it was fully booked. There is, however, another hotel, the Invergarry Hotel, offering meals in the village, but it is quite a hike.

Day 3 – Invergarry - BanavieIt was a chilly start to the day so we fired up the diesel heating and listened to the Scottish news on the radio. Apparently there was a heatwave on the way. Our plan was to travel to the end of navigation (for hire cruisers), Banavie Locks, as quickly as possible. We could then take a leisurely cruise back to base, stopping at selected moorings on the way. To reach that goal we still had approximately 25 miles, several locks and swing bridges, and 5 hours of cruising to do. At the end of Loch Oich we passed through the Laggan Swing Bridge and entered the narrow pine tree-fringed section of canal, affectionately known as Laggan Avenue, at the end of which is Laggan Locks,

where we descended into, Loch Lochy, our final Loch on the canal. Here we passed the ‘Le Boat’ hire fleet, which is based at Laggan Locks. The scenery had begun to change, the high rolling green hills gave way to more rugged snow-capped mountains and, once through Gairlochy Locks and Moy Swing Bridge and onto the last section of the canal, we occasionally caught glimpses of the sea, many metres below us, in the distance. Under the gaze of the dramatic Ben Nevis range of mountains, we tied up on the pontoons above the Banavie Locks, nicknamed Neptune’s Staircase. Beyond lay the entrance to Loch Linnie. Here, as with many of the other locks along the canal, there are excellent shower, toilet,

On a clear day the dramatic, snow-capped Ben Nevis mountain range is visible from the canal

There was a surprise at the pine fringed Kytra Lock. Gold stars were given to lifejacket wearers

Motorboat Owner © Digital Marine Media Ltd 2120 December 2015

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but ultimately they wanted to reach the Scilly Isles before heading back to their base in Southampton. They introduced us to the star of the boat, their lovely Dalmatian ‘Bertie’, who actually gave us a smile. We wished them a safe journey as we waved goodbye. Today was turnaround day for us. Meandering our way back along the narrow canal stretch, we caught a momentary glimpse of the summit of snow-capped Ben Nevis before the low-lying cloud and mist covered it again. At Moy Swing Bridge, the lovely Irish bridge man opened one side of the bridge for us and then, to our surprise, clambered into a dinghy, rowed across the canal and manually opened the other side, before waving us through. Surely he doesn’t have to do this all the time we thought, so by way of a thank you, we gave him some refreshments in a plastic bag held out on an extended boat hook as we passed through. We started our ascent again as we negotiated Gairlochy Locks. These are very deep locks, and too high to lasso the bollards on top of the lockside, so ropes were passed

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????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

Fort William is a short taxi ride from Banavie

and refuse disposal facilities, all of which are completely free to use. No sooner had we tied up, we were off to explore the area, first descending the mighty Neptune’s Staircase and then catching a taxi into Fort William. We struck lucky with the taxi driver. Originally from Essex, she had settled in Fort William many decades ago. She gave us a tour of the area (including showing us the distillery) and offered to pick us up for our return trip. Loch Linnie is a sea loch, which means that they have a strong fishing tradition here, making it an excellent place to sample fresh

seafood. We chose the warm and friendly restaurant, ‘The Tavern’, in the High Street for an early dinner and ate a lovely, hearty meal in true Scottish style, including a smoked fish, potato and leek thick broth called ‘Cullen Skink’, which was very tasty. We picked up supplies from Tesco and caught the taxi back to Banavie. Day 4 – Banavie - Laggan LocksWe awoke to the sound of engines and discovered that there was a fleet of vessels embarking on a decent down Neptune’s Staircase to Corpach Sea Lock and Loch Linnie below. One of these boats was a Princess 54 called Snow Tiger and we spoke to the owners as they negotiated the first of the eight locks. They were fulfilling one of the items from their ‘bucket list’ by circumnavigating Britain. They had started out from the Solent last year and wintered on the east coast, continuing up the North Sea to the Moray Firth and Inverness, before entering the Caledonian Canal. Their next port of call was Oban,

Clouds covered the summit of the snow-capped Ben Nevis, as we departed the pontoons at Banavie

The Laggan Locks moorings are very picturesque

down by the attendants. There are excellent moorings and facilities on the upstream side of this lock, perfect for an overnight stay, but we needed to go a bit further and had already decided to try for a mooring at Laggan Locks where we had spotted a very unusual floating pub, called The Eagle Barge Inn. The sun had broken through the cloud and it had actually turned a lot warmer, so we had a lovely passage across Loch Lochy, arriving at Laggan Locks shortly after 3pm. This picturesque spot has good pontoon moorings and facilities but the breeze funnels up Loch Lochy between the steep green

Motorboat Owner © Digital Marine Media Ltd 2322 December 2015

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the wind, just a short distance from the barge. It was time to explore and the hillside looked lush and inviting, like a mowed lawn. In reality it was a different story with waist high dense ferns, nettles and a slope that was a lot steeper than it seemed from the boat. That evening we ate hearty pub grub in the cosy bar area of the Tardis-like belly of The Eagle Barge. It was obviously a very popular haunt for locals and boaters alike. Some fellow visiting boaters had the foresight to book ahead and were tucking into a huge platter of seafood in the restaurant. It looked fabulous. It was at dusk, when I went for a walk to the shower block, that I spotted something. As I crossed the upstream lock gates and looked downstream, I saw the sleek, silvery silhouette of an otter hopping across the gates. It was obviously a regular occurrence for him as he appeared to know where he was going. I had never seen otters in the wild before and this was a magical moment that I will hold in my memory forever. Day 5 – Laggan Locks - Fort AugustusWe left Laggan Locks at 8.30am and entered the tree-fringed Laggan Avenue and on into Loch Oich. Our first stop was for breakfast at the Well of Seven Heads mooring, where a monument on the loch side, erected 150 years ago, commemorates a particularly bloody massacre and is so-called because on a mound close by, at least seven headless bodies were found buried. Just across the busy A82 road here, is the most amazing Lochside Larder café where we purchased the tastiest and largest scotch eggs we had

ever seen. True to the forecast, the weather had changed and we were bathed in sunshine all day. We were now seeing Loch Oich in very different conditions to what we had witnessed a couple of days previously. It was beautiful, with many tiny, lush-green islands, between which we were guided by navigation marks. We dropped the canopy for the first time to catch the breeze in the sweltering heat, arriving at Fort Augustus at 12.20. We were not called into the locks until around 4pm and, as a consequence, didn’t reach our mooring for the night, the pontoons at the bottom of the lock flight, until after 5pm. We weren’t sure why there had been such a hold up, we were just thankful we hadn’t left getting through the locks until the next day. We still found time to explore the busy and historic town of Fort Augustus,

which has a great selection of pubs and restaurants, a large supermarket, a Benedictine Abbey and a Caledonian Canal Museum. The downstream lock moorings have laundry, shower and toilet facilities and the path leads on to the end of the entrance channel, where you have the most amazing views right down Loch Ness. Moored just a few boats down from us was another Caley Cruiser boat which had a family of three generations on board, on their first boating holiday. The grandad turned out to be a bubble blowing enthusiast and treated us to a wonderful display of huge bubbles on the bank as we sat in the warm evening sunshine on the back of the boat. Day 6 – Fort Augustus -UrquhartOur plan for today was to travel back along Loch Ness to Urquhart Harbour and explore the village of Drumnadrochit. We also needed the boat in a position where, whatever the weather, we would be able to easily get back to the Caley Cruiser base, ready for our early flight back to Luton

on Saturday. As we left Fort Augustus at 9.40am, following the first boats out of the flight of locks, it was murky, muggy and slightly overcast, and we couldn’t help wondering what Nessie had in store for us today. We all agreed that we loved Loch Ness, as the scenery was not only stunning, it was so wild and unpredictable. When it is calm, the way the wind and reflections play on the water is incredible. With ‘windslicks’ and changes in colour, it is easy to see how these can be mistaken for ‘Nessie’. Today, the weather was perfect

The ‘bubble man’ attempts to blow his biggest bubble on the bankside at Fort Augustus

CR

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The pontoon mooring at the Well of Seven Heads was stunning and had a cafe across the road

At the locks along the way we met some lovely people. For many it was their first boating experience

Motorboat Owner © Digital Marine Media Ltd 2524 December 2015

CR

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ING as we meandered down the centre of the

loch under ever brightening, brilliant blue skies and the wind behind us. We pulled into Urquhart Harbour just after midday with plenty of time for our walk. It’s about a mile and half walk to the village of Drumnadrochit from Urquhart Harbour. The scenery is stunning, but the walk is along a very fast road. It was well worth the hike though, the village is quaint with a small grocery store, as well as some very interesting individual shops and bars. Notably, Fiddlers Highland Restaurant and Malt Whisky Bar, boasts a selection of over 600 malts. Drumnadrochit is also home to the Loch Ness Centre and Exhibition. We spent a couple of hours here, learning about the history and geography, facts and figures and, of course, the legends attached to what is, undoubtedly, the most famous Loch in the world. Measuring 22 miles in length, with an area of 21.75 sq.miles, it has enough water to immerse the entire population of the world, three times over. In 1987 ‘Operation Deepscan’, using a fleet of 20 Princess 32 motorboats, courtesy of Caley Cruisers, performed a massive sonar sweep of the Loch, in a search for ‘Nessie’. Day 7 – Urquhart - InvernessWe awoke to a very still morning with the

water glistening in the sunshine. On the opposite bank, a mist hung eerily over the loch. The bubbleman was casting bubbles across the harbour and the ducks came quacking for food at the first signs of life onboard. It was an idyllic start to our last day. We left our mooring hoping that we could secure a temporary mooring on the Urquhart Castle pontoon and were not disappointed, the pontoon was empty. This pontoon is very popular but is only

available to leisure boats at certain times of the day, due to trip boat use. This famous medieval castle was the site of much action and bloodshed over the centuries, the latest of which, in 1692 left it in ruins. It is now owned and run by the Scottish National Trust and has magnificent views across the loch. It was beautiful back out on the loch, but a lunch at the highly recommended Oakwood Restaurant beckoned and, no sooner had we exited our final lock (Dochgarroch), we were sitting down to a fantastic feast at this very friendly, quirky venue. Our menu choices consisted of fresh langoustines, scallops and a rich beef

dish of braised Aberdeen Angus steak. It was absolutely gorgeous. Arriving back at the Caley Cruiser base at 4pm, gave us a chance to get the boat checked-in and refuelled, we had used 113 litres of diesel. In the evening, having already seen the western exit of the Caledonian Canal at Fort William, we were anxious to see where it starts on the east coast, and walked along the final stretch of the canal to the, delightfully named, Clacknaharry Sea Lock. We enjoyed supper in the Clacknaharry Inn, overlooking the glistening waters of Beauly Firth, which leads out into the Moray Firth and the North Sea. Our journey was complete. We had travelled the length of this breathtaking waterway, and the next day travelled back home in the pouring rain. We really had enjoyed the best of the weather for our very memorable trip. We’ll be back.

The medieval ruins of Urquhart Castle stand dominant at the eastern end of Loch Ness

Fuel used: 113 litres (25 gallons) Engine Hours: 24.5 hours (1 gallon per hour)

‘Balmoral’ Broom Ocean 38 hullSingle Volvo 150hp shaftdrive diesel engine

LOGBOOK

At the Oakwood Restaurant at Dochgarroch we feasted on delicious langoustines and scallops

Our passage back east through Loch Ness was spectacular and we were bathed in sunshine

tested

Motorboat Owner © Digital Marine Media Ltd 2726 December 2015

All tests in Motorboat Owner are carried out by real boaters in real life situations

Corrosion SpraysOne of the things that I like to do, indeed I recommend it whenever I am writing articles about winterizing or laying up, is to use some kind of protective spray on the boat’s engine and other mechanical components. To be honest, over the years I have always used whatever came to hand, and that was typically anything from good old WD40, to the latest product sent to the office and claimed by the manufacturer to be the very stuff used on the space shuttle. Is one better than the other? Is it worth paying more for something blended for NASA? Do you really need anything at all? These are the questions I have set out

to answer this month with Motorboat Owner’s first comparative product test. I hit the chandlery, paid a visit to DIY and car stores and rummaged around the darkest recesses of my garage to come up with 12 products that claim to offer protective qualities. During my research I

was surprised to find just how many such products there are out there and, it soon became apparent, I would not be able to test them all. What I have done is narrow the selection down to 12 and included products marketed and sold specifically to boaters, as well as some general DIY products and other specialist sprays that have received glowing reports in other sectors, such as motorcycling, automotive and aerospace. To test them we have given them the toughest job of all. We have taken 13 pieces of virgin mild steel and abraded them to remove the protection they left the foundry with. Each piece was then treated with one of the 12 products on test, with the 13th piece left untreated as a control. We then left them outside for a month to deal with the ravages of the British autumn and early winter and, just to add to their workload, once a week we gave all test samples a liberal spray with saltwater. While the products were left to get on with their protecting, we also looked at the application of each product in terms of its spray pattern and coverage. Each product was test sprayed for one second at a distance of 20cm to see what kind of coverage they would deliver with typical use. Not all sprays are equal, and it is plain to see that some lend themselves better to the act of protecting large expanses of metal, while others are more suited to targeted protection. Many of the sprays have the ability to be used with a straw

attachment, so even the less targeted ones can still be used for very specific jobs, if required. A small saturation area makes it harder to get good, even coverage on larger items such as an engine, while lots of run-off means you need to be quick with your application to avoid wastage and making a mess. In turn, a quick application may mean that you end up missing bits. The perfect spray for large areas should provide a good wide saturation with little run off, while for very targeted protection, something thicker that is delivered in a smaller spray pattern would be more suitable. Another thing to look out for is residue. If you are going to use a protective spray on a regular basis, you will want one that doesn’t leave too much residue behind, as it will build up over time. Also look out for ones that leave a sticky residue behind. This will attract dirt and dust. Ultimately though, the spray must stop corrosion and if it can do so without leaving a nasty residue and with an easy and frugal application then it’s a winner. Here’s how our 12 products fared:

A regular spray keeps rust at bay, but which is best?

13 pieces of mild steel, 12 anti-corrosion products, salt water and a damp environment. Let the test begin

tested

Motorboat Owner © Digital Marine Media Ltd 2928 December 2015

All tests in Motorboat Owner are carried out by real boaters in real life situations

Corrosion Sprays continued......

Corrosion BlockProduced by the same people that sellACF50 and is the same product in a slightly thicker solution. Said to last upto six months, it is delivered in a narrow and directional spray, more like a jet, with little overspray outside the 3.5cm diameter saturated area, but with lots of run off, despite being quite viscous. This would make it hard to use if you wanted good, even coverage over a large area, and I think you may end up using lots of product to ensure total protection, which could make it expensive to use.

Starbrite Corrosion ProtectionThis product has quite a thick viscosity and is delivered in a rather narrow spray pattern, with a 1 second saturation area of 4cm with moderate overspray. Due to the thickness there was no run off, making it particularly good for vertical surfaces. It does leave behind a very obvious yellow coating that remains a little tacky. This product was discontinued during our test, but is still available to buy while stocks last.

Quicksilver Corrosion Guard This Marine specific spray is widely sold in chandleries and is a brand that belongs to Mercury Marine, part of the massive Brunswick Corporation. This medium viscosity product is clear and was applied without any run off during our test. It has a very targeted delivery with the smallest diameter saturation area of all the products on test, at just 2.5cm, with just a little overspray.

Boeshield T9 This is one of the products that I had kicking around and that I have used over the last couple of years. As the name infers, it has an aeronautical connection and was developed and licenced by the Boeing aircraft company. It is a medium viscosity product that delivered a 5cm saturation spray during our 1 second test with an average amount of overspray and slight run off. This product lends itself well to application on large areas, as well as targeted use with the addition of a tube.

After 24 hours: TackyAt end of test: Showing some very faint traces of surface rust around the edges but overall an impressive result. Targeted delivery makes it less suitable for larger areas.Usable with a tube: NWhat else can it do: It doesn’t claim to do anything other than prevent corrosion

After 24 hours: TackyAt end of test: Still very slightly tacky and still showing a yellow colouration. The test sample was completely rust free so a top notch performer and recommended as long as the tackiness and discolouration are acceptable.Usable with a tube: YWhat else can it do: Lubricates

After 24 hours: Still wet but not tackyAt end of test: Corrosion Block delivers brilliant corrosion protection with one tiny spec of light rust on the test piece, possibly due to missed application. Recommended for targeted applicationUsable with a tube: YWhat else can it do: Penetrate, lubricate, attacks corrosion, displaces water

Motorboat Owner

BEST IN

TEST COMMENDED

Motorboat Owner

HIGHLYCOMMENDED

Motorboat Owner

HIGHLY

PRICE 354ml

£14.99 PRICE 312ml

£8.99PRICE 325ml

£14.95 PRICE 354ml

£25.95

Motorboat Owner

Value 2/5Usability 5/5Performance 4/5

“A great performer but comes at a

price”

After 24 hours: Still wet but not tackyAt end of test: A few spots of surface rust had started to appear but overall a very impressive result and an easy product to use for wide coverage. Only its price lets it down.Usable with a tube: YWhat else can it do: Penetrate, lubricate, attack corrosion, displaces moisture

Motorboat Owner

Value 4/5Usability 3/5Performance 4/5

“I would be happy to use this on my

engine”

Motorboat Owner

Value 5/5Usability 3/5Performance 5/5

“Would have been commended

if it wasn’t discontinued”

Motorboat Owner

Value 4/5Usability 3/5Performance 5/5

“It does what is says on the tin”

www.flyingshop.com www.starbrite.com www.force4.co.uk www.boeshield.co.uk

tested

Motorboat Owner © Digital Marine Media Ltd 3130 December 2015

All tests in Motorboat Owner are carried out by real boaters in real life situations

Duck Oil Recommended by many, Duck Oil is sold by Swarfega. The blurb says that this thin, clear silicone free spray protects for up to 12 months. Our test spray produced an 8cm diameter area of saturation with a little overspray and some run off. This would be a good product for coating large areas evenly and quickly, although being very thin it readily runs off vertical surfaces. Duck Oil made the ink of our permanent marker run, so I would suggest testing a small area first to ensure compatibility.

Tectane SL 527 Tectane products are available through Toolstation DIY stores. SL527 is simplya silicone spray that also promises toprotect against oxidization. At under £3 per can, it is a very cost effective option. The spray is more of a mist, than a spray and despite a nice wide spray pattern, it is barely noticeable on the surface. During our spray test, I even tried it at 15cm, and for two seconds, and there seemed to be barely any evidence on the test sheet, and therefore no run off. If you need an invisible spray, this is it.

Wurth Corrosion Protection Spray This is a clear and thin spray that covers easily, but runs readily. The benefit of this is that it will creep into crevices and protect hard to reach places, the downside of course is that it runs easily off vertical surfaces. Having said that it manages to leave behind a film that is almost invisible. After application it was difficult to see any difference between the piece treated with this product and the untreated control sample.

Triple QX Maintenance Spray I have seen this big can available for as little as £2.52 which makes it the cheapest per litre of any product on test. The silicone free multipurpose spray delivered a big 9cm diameter saturation spray during our test with little run off or overspray, making this the easiest product to use on large areas. It’s a thin liquid and a little seems to go a long way so with 600ml in a can it should last quite a while.

Corrosion Sprays continued......

After 24 hours: DryAt end of test: Moderately priced, it delivered a moderate performance. Still much better than using nothing, but we had a fair amount of surface rust on our test piece after a month.Usable with a tube: YWhat else can it do: Penetrate, lubricate, non-conductive, displaces water, degrease and insulate

After 24 hours: slightly wetAt end of test: Probably best to leave this one to lubricating. It seemed to have had no effect on keeping corrosion at bay and, at the end, the test sample was difficult to tell apart from the untreated control piece.Usable with a tube: NWhat else can it do: Lubricate and repel water

After 24 hours: Wet but not tackyAt end of test: I had big hopes for this, but in the end our test piece had a lightbut comprehensive covering of surface rust. It was better than using nothing, but I wanted more. Usable with a tube: NWhat else can it do: No claims, but it does specifically mention its benefits around salt water and boat engines

After 24 hours: DryAt end of test: It’s cheap and easy to apply but its performance on the corrosion test was poor. The result was a test piece indistinguishable from the untreated control sample.Usable with a tube: YWhat else can it do: Lubricates, penetrates, dewaters, removes grease, tar, gum and sticky labels

Motorboat Owner

Value 1/5Usability 5/5Performance 1/5

“A cheap and useful spray, but not for

this job”

Motorboat Owner

Value 2/5Usability 4/5Performance 2/5

“Delivered some protection”

Motorboat Owner

Value 1/5Usability 2/5Performance 1/5

“Very poor anti corrosion

properties”

Motorboat Owner

Value 3/5Usability 4/5Performance 3/5

“An average performance but

worth considering”

www.eurocarparts.comwww.wurth.co.ukwww.swarfega.com www.toolstation.com

PRICE 500m

£7.00 PRICE 400ml

£2.61 PRICE 300ml

£9.75 PRICE 600ml

£7.19

tested

Motorboat Owner © Digital Marine Media Ltd 3332 December 2015

All tests in Motorboat Owner are carried out by real boaters in real life situations

GT 85 Not that breathing in any of these spraysis recommended, but GT85 takes the prize for having the nicest smell. ThisPTFE general purpose spray is a budget product that fulfills many roles. It is a light, clear spray delivered with an oddspray pattern that left three separate saturation spots on our test piece, with the middle devoid of product. Having said that it would still be easy to get good coverage of large areas, you just might use a little more product than you would with a normal spray pattern.

Tectane PO 496As the name suggests, this product isdesigned to penetrate, but it also claims to protect against corrosion. It has itsown built in nozzle and delivers a thin, fast jet that puts down a lot of product quickly. Our one-second spray created a 5cm diameter area of saturation with no overspray, but lots of run off. The product is thin but the delivery is more suited to its job of targeted penetration, rather than blanket coverage. It erased our permanent marker, so is a product to test on an inconspicuous area first.

Corrosion Sprays continued......

Corrosion X Corrosion X is available in a range of sizes. It produces a powerful jet that creates lots of spatter at normal spraying distance. It delivered a 4cm diameter saturation pattern but with loads of product delivered quickly there was a fair bit of run off. Like other products that deliver a directional jet, it is difficult to get blanket coverage of large areas without using lots of product so it could get costly. As a targeted use product, it would work well. On our test piece it left behind a thick foamy film.After 24 hours: Very wetAt end of test: This was still wet after a month and was the only sample to have debris stuck to it. Having said that there was no evidence at all of rust so if the above doesn’t matter, you won’t be disappointed.Usable with a tube: YWhat else can it do: Lubricates, penetrates, kills existing corrosion, safe on electrics

After 24 hours: DryAt end of test: I really wanted this one to work well so that my boat would have that lovely smell. Sadly it joins the list of those with a result little better than the untreated control piece.Usable with a tube: YWhat else can it do: Lubricates, cleans, shines, penetrates and displaces water

After 24 hours: DryAt end of test: I was hoping my visit toToolstation would turn up an affordable surprise product that I could bring to the boat owning masses. Unfortunately it was not to be and PO496 will have to stick to penetratingUsable with a tube: NWhat else can it do: Penetrates and loosens

PRICE 475ml

£19.95 PRICE 400ml

£3.08

WD40This test wouldn’t be complete without WD40. If you already have any of these sprays in your toolbox, this is probably it. WD40 is a general purpose water displacement spray. The thin and clear liquid gives good easy coverage with a 9cm area of saturation in one second, with little overspray and a small amount of run off. It will run off a vertical surface but leaves behind a thin film of protection.WD40 also do a long-term corrosion inhibitor, which we were unable to obtain in time for this test. After 24 hours: Slightly wetAt end of test: I was expecting little and was pleasantly surprised that WD40 was the joint sixth best product in terms of corrosion protection. It’s cheap and widely available. Don’t dismiss it.Usable with a tube: YWhat else can it do:2000 things. See here: http://wd40.com/files/wd40-2000.pdf

PRICE 400ml

£4.99

Motorboat Owner

Value 4/5Usability 5/5Performance 3/5

“Better than you think for keeping

rust at bay”

Motorboat Owner

Value 1/5Usability 1/5Performance 1/5

“Corrosion protection is not

this products forte”

Motorboat Owner

Value 1/5Usability 2/5Performance 1/5

“Unfortunately you don’t get points for

a nice smell”

Motorboat Owner

Value 4/5Usability 2/5Performance 5/5

“A great performer if you can live with

the residue”

www.wd40.co.ukwww.toolstation.comwww.corrosion-x.co.uk www.gt85.co.uk

PRICE 400ml

£4.99 Motorboat

Owner

BUDGET

BUY

tested

Motorboat Owner © Digital Marine Media Ltd 35

All tests in Motorboat Owner are carried out by real boaters in real life situationstested All tests in Motorboat Owner are carried

out by real boaters in real life situations

34 December 2015

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Corrosion Sprays continued......

ConclusionThe real surprise for me was good old WD40. It seems to get dismissed by many, including me I have to admit, so I honestly wasn’t expecting it to do very well. Our test proves me wrong, and that it is definitely worth using to combat corrosion. It’s as good as Duck Oil, but cheaper and easier to get hold of, which is why we have awarded it our best budget buy accolade. If you want the very best performer in rust prevention then two products produced a zero rust result. One of them , Starbrite has been withdrawn and the other, Corrosion X, leaves a wet residue. Corrosion Block and Quicksilver Corrosion Guard are brilliant products, with Corrosion Block just edging out in front, but their delivery method is more suited to targeted areas. Boeshield produced a very good result and is easy to use on large areas but is expensive. For me, the overall winner has to be Corrosion Block, but I would back it up with a can of Boeshield if I was feeling flush, or WD40 if on a budget, for those larger expanses of metal.

Our test pieces of virgin mild steel were liberally coated with each product and left outside for a month. Once a week they were sprayed with a salt water solution. The test continues, and we’ll bring you an update at three months to see if a longer term test favours a different product

Our control piece, no 7, was bare and untreated mild steel

Motorboat Owner © Digital Marine Media Ltd 3736 December 2015

Who could mistake the classic lines of a Fairey hull? They are beautiful, elegant and iconic.

Back in the early 60’s these hulls spawned a very different range of boats, a range that to this day has melted the hearts of many boaters in the British Isles, the Dell Quay Ranger. In the late 50’s and early 60’s Fairey Marine was successfully producing a range of shaftdriven wooden ‘express’ cruisers on the River Hamble. The company had adapted a hot moulding process, used originally in aircraft production, to

use, to be dropped into the sea from aircraft, or to be used by high-ranking naval officers as tenders. Large lifting eyes in the decks may be in evidence but, unfortunately, there is little else to back up this story. Nonetheless, the Dell Quay Ranger 25 was born and, in January 1962, the first boat made its debut at the London Boat Show. It offered four berths with two separate cabins and an open centre cockpit. Unlike its Fairey inboard diesel relatives, the 25 was powered by single or twin sterndrives, which made them far cheaper by comparison, costing in the

Built approx 66 1963-1968Prices then £6,680 (1966)Prices now £7,500-£20,000Length 27ft / 8.23mBeam 9ft / 2.74mDraught 2ft 4in / 0.71mAir Draught windscreen6ft 3in / 1.91mFuel 455 litres / 100 gallonsWater 135 litres / 30 gallonsDisplacement 3000kg approx

Dell Quay Ranger 27produce its hulls using layers of a material known as Agba, a West African mahogany. Fairey’s fast, deep V hulls were originally designed by American naval architect, Ray Hunt, and its range included the 23ft Huntress and the 28ft Huntsman, both designed by Alan Burnard. In 1961 the Dell Quay Yacht Company, based in Itchenor, started the development of a 25ft, wooden, aft cabin cruiser using a Fairey Marine Huntress hull. With rumours of a ‘cancelled order’ by the Ministry of Defence, it is believed that this boat was initially destined for military

CLASSIC CRUISERSa complete guide to the best boats on the used market

region of £5k when new. Eighteen Huntress-based Ranger 25’s were built, but by 1963 Dell Quay was planning a larger boat with more power options, a Ranger 27. The initial transition between the Ranger 25 and 27 seems to be a bit of grey area. Build records from Fairey Marine indicate that the next few Huntress hulls supplied were lengthened to 27ft overall and were named the Dell Quay Ranger 27. Others believe that the builder, Dell Quay, opted to use the larger Huntsman hull for the Ranger 27 from the off. Whichever scenario it is,

J.Ray

Motorboat Owner © Digital Marine Media Ltd 3938 December 2015

purposeful and streamlined, yet full of character. When you mention a Ranger 27 to people, the word ‘cute’ is often inferred, and with features such as the curved windows and the pronounced ‘eyebrow’ over the forward cabin, we can see why. We are sad to report that there are very few of these boats in existence today and on the water. At one time there were 23 Ranger 27s based in Guernsey alone. Today there are believed to be just 11 boats still on the island. We heard that just a few months prior to writing this feature a 27 was cut up at Marine and General’s yard at St Sampsons in Guernsey. This is the sad fate of many an abandoned wooden boat. In our quest to research the 27 we were only able to find two for sale,

arrangement but with a tank below the cockpit deck. Although these boats were designed primarily for leisure use, a 27 took part in the famous Cowes-Torquay race. Under race number 163, ‘Missus Smith’ competed in 1966, 1967 and 1968. It was also shipped out to participate in one of the Miami-Nassau races. The boat, Dell Quay production number 910, is now called Shalom and is believed to be one of the boats based in Guernsey. When the 27 ceased production the company went on to produce the GRP, twin engine, three cabin Ranger 36 designed by Carey Golesworthy. There is a functional elegance to

the Ranger 27. Its lines are

A group of four Ranger 27’s approaching St Peter Port, Guernsey, as pictured in the Ranger 36 brochure

a new flagship was born and the extra 2ft of space was divided up between the cockpit, cabin and, most importantly, the engine bay, so it could accommodate larger engines. It was designed to be fast and comfortable for long distance cruising. Sterndrive power also made these boats easier to dry out, making them very popular in the Channel Islands, particularly Guernsey. The company also introduced two other versions of the 27, the Tropical and the Fisherman. The Tropical version was identical in terms of the forward superstructure but it had an open, one-level aft cockpit. On this version settees fold out from below the deck. The Fisherman version has a similar

Selling the dream, the 1964 brochure shows a Ranger 27 tied up at Dell Quay in Chichester Harbour

and one previously for sale in Gibraltar, yet we saw many more examples out of the water in various states of repair. We are however, reassured to hear of one renovation project in the UK that is well underway. There is also support out there for potential buyers with the Dell Quay Ranger website, where many enthusiastic owners can be contacted.

InteriorThe boat’s accommodation is arranged over two levels, with two, two-berth cabins either side of the open, canopy-covered centre cockpit. The interior fit out is best described as ‘no frills’, and typical of the 1960’s. It is basic and stark, but this is all part of its charm and the overall

‘To Malta and then who knows’ is one of the quotes from the pages of the 1964 brochure Ten Ranger 27’s dried out on Shell Beach on Herm in the Channel Islands

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Motorboat Owner © Digital Marine Media Ltd 4140 December 2015

purpose sunken aft cabin. This tends to be the owners choice of cabin as it’s quite spacious. It has two single bunks, one on either side, with recessed footwells and a large hanging locker in the aft bulkhead. Again there is excellent storage under each berth, and open vinyl padded lockers provide essential bedside storage. The cabin is perfect for lounging and, with the canopy down and the huge roof hatch slid back, you can really let the sunshine in. This cabin doubles as the boats main entertaining and dinette area. An opening leaf tabletop lifts out from between the two berths and slots into the floor with a single pedestal. Uniquely, on the Ranger 27, access to the toilet compartment is off the centre cockpit. The toilet’s central location, under the helm console, not only makes it practical for use while underway, it also ensures that no one is disturbed at night. Inside this sunken, compact compartment you will find a sea toilet and foldout sink. Like most of the boats of its era, a hot water system was not standard. A single cold-water tap in the toilet compartment and galley was linked to the boats 30 gallon water tank under cockpit floor. Owners may have added a calorifier and a shower fitting at a later date. The concealed, rectangular-shaped, galley unit is located in the centre cockpit to starboard. This is often cushion-topped and doubles as additional cockpit seating. It’s also perfectly placed to put the kettle on while underway. The galley features a two-burner hob, a large sink and deep cupboards with sliding doors below, offering plenty of storage. Above the sink is a shelved storage cupboard, useful for smaller helm or galley items. The galley unit was constructed before the days of

The cockpit galley offers a two-burner hob, a sink and plentiful storage with deep drawers

generous double, but it fills the cabin area, leaving little space to stand up and dress. Moving aft, a large sliding cockpit door and a roof hatch give access to the dual-

The forward cabin has V berths which convert into a large ‘whole-cabin’ double

practicality of the boat. Originally the marine ply interior was white, with some teak edging in places, and the seat vinyl was blue, with chunky 4-inch foam bunk cushions, seating and padded lockers in the aft cabin. These boats are over 50 years old now and proud owners are often meticulous at keeping their boats as original as possible. As you move about the boat, opening cupboards and lockers, look for writing on the back, as Dell Quay often wrote the build number on every part of the boat. A door and single wooden step leads down from the cockpit into the forward cabin. Inside are two V berths and triple aspect, large rectangular windows offer plenty of light, as well as a good view out. Unfortunately these windows are prone to leaks, most will have been repaired but it is worth pulling back the curtains and looking for signs of water damage. There are two large cupboards on the cockpit bulkhead and ample storage space under each berth. Slotted inside the forward locker you should find another ‘nifty’ feature of this boat, the vinyl slatted infill base. With an infill cushion this makes a

The cabin-cum-dinette aft and the compact toilet compartment

fitted fridges, but you may find that some owners have used the space under the helm seat to stow a coolbox or install a fridge.

Cockpit and HelmThe easiest way to enter the cockpit of a Ranger 27, particularly with the canopy up, is usually from the starboard side deck. The helm seat somewhat obstructs entry on the port side, while on the starboard side there is plenty of room to limbo under the boats fixed canopy frame, and step down into the deep centre cockpit. A bank of storage lockers aid your descent down, and the cockpit immediately feels safe and protected, due to its high surrounding bulkheads. The helm is simply laid out with a single, sloping dashboard. Note that the engine dials may well have been updated through re-engining. On the dash you will

Motorboat Owner © Digital Marine Media Ltd 4342 December 2015

also find the Dell Quay builders plate. Like many boats of this age there is very little dash space, so you will find navigation kit bracket-mounted on top of the helm console. The bolstered double helm seat sits on four metal pillars and incorporates a footrest. It provides good visibility out of the windscreen, even with the canopy up. There is a lack of seating in the cockpit, but most boats will have a small fold down seat in the starboard corner. The condition of the canopy is another important aspect to consider, it’s an essential feature on this boat and could be expensive to replace. Traditionally made in white vinyl material, this can dry out and become brittle through age. The canopy framework consists of two fixed metal bars, which start at the top of the windscreen and gradually cascade down to the aft cabin roof. The sloping design is very simple, giving full standing headroom, and allows the aft cabin roof hatch to be fully open undercover. Its shape also compliments the boat’s lines beautifully. The canopy top section usually

rolls forwards and is secured over the windscreen. Whilst in the cockpit, check along the inside the windscreen and cabin roof joins, as leaks are common here. The windscreen upstand may vary in height from boat to boat and may have been replaced at some time.

On DeckThe Ranger 27 has one-level walkaround decks. These are a good width and enclosed by solid stanchions at the bow and aft quarters, with flexible guardrails between. Often the stanchion uprights have become lose through years of use, so check for damage at the bases. Traditionally teak, the decks are susceptible to rot and will probably have been repaired or replaced, so check thoroughly. A non-slip covering may have been fitted for practicality, but be aware that this could also hide problems. Mooring warps can damage the wood near the fairleads, so this is another are to pay close scrutiny to. Stainless ‘lugs’ are fitted to the transom and these, together with the stainless bow roller, are described in the 1964 brochure as lifting points so that the boat could be lifted ashore, or onto the

deck of a ship. Owners often use the large flat aft deck, above the engine, as an outside seating area with deck chairs.

Hull and handlingThe Huntsman is renowned for its excellent sea keeping, so it will come as no surprise that the Ranger 27 shares its abilities and is just as highly regarded. Although the Fairey Huntsman’s hull was designed for a shaftdrive engine installation, it took to sterndrive power very well. Albeit wet at times, the deep V-hull is very capable and makes light work of chop. Ranger 27’s didn’t leave the factory with trim tabs, although many owners will have fitted these since. It is important to remember that each 27 is different. The size of the hull bow badging (traditionally blue) and the distance between gunwale and horizontal sprayrail will often differ from boat to boat. This is not unusual in traditional boat building. Wooden hulls are a ‘labour of love’ and you will need to keep on top of maintenance. Checking what work has been carried out before purchase, is advisable. You will also need to give the

hull a thorough inspection out of the water, and we would recommend enlisting the services of a surveyor, specialising in wooden boats and with particular knowledge of the Fairey hot moulding method. While the simple construction means minor repairs are relatively easy, major repairs, such as rebuilding of the transom, are likely to be costly and time consuming. There are a few specific areas which are susceptible to water ingress, which may lead to rot. For instance, the iconic Fairey blue bow badging is a particularly common area to require work. This is made of marine ply and rain can easily creep underneath it. If left, this could

The area around the bow is prone to rot. This is 1966 boat ‘Cygnet’, undergoing renovation

There is a small fold-out seat in the cockpit

The helm is simply laid out with a double seat

It has generous all-round decks and the large flat aft sundeck can be used for deck chairs

Motorboat Owner © Digital Marine Media Ltd 4544 December 2015

ConclusionThese boats are over 50 years old now, but age itself is not necessarily a concern. Look for an example that has been well loved and maintained by its owners, that ideally can be stepped aboard and used. Be wary of getting yourself into a project that may prove too big and costly to complete. Time and skills will be required but know your limits, in terms of budget. The Dell Quay Ranger 27 is part of our boating heritage and deserves to be treasured and celebrated, like the Fairey’s that spawned them.

eventually penetrate the hulls hot-moulded layers of veneer. Many boats have suffered from this and consequently will have had their bow sections refurbished. The transom is another important area to inspect. This was originally made from marine ply, like the superstructure, and is not part of the moulded hull. Water can gather inside the deep steps of the chunky solid bathing ladder and cause rot, as can any leaks around the transom joins or outdrive legs. If possible have a good look along each hull spray rail for any damage, checking for areas of exposed wood and the condition of the fastenings. Note that keel shoes are often added to limit damage when drying out so, if fitted, check that

these are in good order. Inspect the aft section of the waterline spray rail, as this sits underwater and may be suffering from rot. Dell Quay did strengthen the hull and superstructure with the evolvement of the engines. However, even more strengthening is recommended with further re-engining, especially if adding more power.

EnginesIt is important to remember that any Ranger 27 will almost certainly have been re-engined, and perhaps even several times. The first 27s were fitted with twin Volvo Penta 110hp Aquamatics petrol sterndrives. At the time, these would have given a fairly low top speed of 23 knots. A Volvo Aquamatic diesel alternative is also mentioned in a 1964 brochure. The 27’s power evolved through its production and soon the boat was fitted with twin 130hp Volvos. Twin V6 150hp and V8 180hp were also offered, upping the top speed to 30 knots. However, these were apparently prone to water ingress through the sterndrive exhaust inlets and were often re-enginged as a result. One particular boat we know of has had four sets of engines. Martin Ray, owner

Today, twin diesel installations are popular. Left, twin Volvo D3 160hps and right, twin Steyr 144hps mated to Volvo sterndrives

of Guernsey-based 1967 boat, Poppacross, bought his boat with a pair of 130hp Volvo petrols, these had replaced the original V6 150hp petrols. Martin has since re-engined his boat twice, first fitting with a pair of larger petrols, Volvo AQ167’s and then opting for diesel economy, fitting a pair of 144hp Steyr diesels. The boat cruises happily between 22-25 knots and is capable of 30 knots. It seems the introduction of Volvo’s modern and compact D series diesel engines has not escaped the attentions of a few enthusiastic Ranger 27 owners. We are aware of at least two boats that were re-engined with twin D3 160hps. This is a worthy and well-matched transplant, as it transforms the boat into an obedient and supercharged rocket ship. But this is an expensive operation costing in excess of £30k, a fact that is often reflected in the re-sale price. No doubt a pair of similar sized, previous generation 170hp KAD32’s would give similar performance. Another popular occurrence, particularly with the examples based in Guernsey, was re-engining to a single 200hp Volvo Penta AD41. The single configuration meant the engine could be mounted lower in the engine bay and transom. This reportedly gives a similar 30-knot performance to twin engined versions. More recently one owner is looking to implant a modern single Volvo D4 260hp, and will be teaming it with a bowthruster for close quarter manoeuvring. Engine access is very good, via a large heavy hatch in the aft deck. Originally the boat had two 227-litre fuel tanks located under the centre cockpit floor. These may have been modified to effectively turn them into a single tank.

1966 £19,950 VAT not paid (featured)Twin Volvo D3 160hp dieselsLovell Yachts 01481 716880www.lovellyachts.com

1966 £7,450Twin Volvo 170hp petrolsValue Boats 0800 043 2628www.valueboats.co.uk

Rangers are sometimes re-engined with a single

Dell Quay Ranger 25Buy one (pictured) 1962 £24,999Boatshed www.boatshed.com

Q&A Your Questions Answered

If you have a question, email us at

editorial@motorboatowner.co.uk

Motorboat Owner © Digital Marine Media Ltd 4746 December 2015

Q I have an old Evinrude 15hp two stroke and I am trying to work out the year, I believe it to be around 1990, at least that is what I was sold it as. I have attached the model number, can you date it from this?

What year is my outboard?

A Luckily with OMC engines from the 80’s and 90’s there is a very easy way to date them, if you have the model number. OMC model numbers from this era start with a letter, which designates where it was built. Most UK engines will have a B for Belgium. Next you will usually find either a J or an E depending on whether the engine is a Johnson or an Evinrude. Then you will have a number that tells you the HP of the engine and the next one or two letters will provide some design features, the BF in our example stands for Belgium de-rated – rope start. The next single letter provides shaft length information, L for long, but it is the next two that we are interested in. Remember the word ‘INTRODUCES’, then allocate the numbers 1 through to 9 and then zero, to each of the letters. This is your year code. In our example the C equals 8 and the U equals 7 so we can work out that ours is a 1987 engine. Your ES code tells me that you do indeed have a 1990 motor. The ‘INTRODUCES’ year code works for all OMC engines from 1980 onwards, although from 99 onwards other parts of the model number changed slightly.

Outdrive duoprop doesn’t engageQ I have a Volvo Penta duoprop outdrive that doesn’t engage gear until I bring the engine revs up to around 1100rpm. It happens mainly in forward gear, although occasionally there is a slight delay going astern. Any idea what’s causing it and, more importantly, is it going to be expensive to fix?

A There are a few possible causes for symptoms such as yours, and the cost will depend on which one turns out to be the problem. The first is an incorrectly adjusted, or damaged, cable, which should be a relatively cheap and easy fix. The next thing to look at is the oil in the drive. Is it the correct type and is it free of contamination? Again, changing the oil is inexpensive unless you find contamination that requires further investigation. If these items check out ok you may be looking at a cone clutch problem. Sometimes these can be removed and overhauled, but once you are into paying someone an hourly rate, and this really is a job for the professionals unless you are a very competent DIYer, it might be just as simple to get a new one installed.

Q My boat is just about to be lifted for some winter maintenance and servicing and was thinking about changing the outdrive bellows on my Mercruiser Alpha drive. They were changed two years ago so, according to the servicing schedule, are due to be changed now. The thing is, they look to be in great condition and I am not currently in a position to be spending money I don’t need to. Do you think I will get away with leaving it for another year?

Replacing outdrive bellows

A The answer is that you will probably be OK for another year, but you have to ask yourself whether it is worth the risk. The exhaust bellows is not such a problem, so stretching this for another year should be fine, but if your drive bellows, or gear shift bellows split, the repair bills will mount up very quickly and make the cost of a new bellows seem like small change. The sort of damage a split bellows can cause is a ruined gimbal bearing, damaged U joints and, in some cases, can even lead to water ingress into the boat, resulting in sinking.

OMC were very helpful when it comes to dating outboards. The CU here dates it from 87

I N T R O D U C E S1 982 3 07654

A Many small TV’s, usually those below 19 inches, actually run on 12 volt and convert the 240 Volt AC from the plug into 12 Volt DC using a transformer. If you have a black box on the mains power lead, yours may well be one of them. Read the label on the black box and see what it says the output voltage is. If it says 12 Volt DC, you can power your TV from the boat’s batteries. You would need to make up a suitable lead, or cut off the transformer and use the one you have. If you do the latter you will obviously not be able to use the TV on mains power again. One thing to be aware of is that your boat’s electrical system may well be up at around 14 volts when underway, or with the battery charger turned on, and some TV’s may not like this. I have been using a household TV in this way for a few years now with no problems, but if you are concerned you can add a voltage regulator to the circuit to ensure that your TV only ever gets 12 volts.

Q&A Your Questions Answered

If you have a question, email us at

editorial@motorboatowner.co.uk

Motorboat Owner © Digital Marine Media Ltd 4948 December 2015

Q I have a small household flat screen LCD TV on board our Broom that we currently can only use when we have shorepower. Someone said that I could power it direct from the boat’s 12 volt circuit. Is that correct?

Wiring a TV to 12 Volt

Q Can I use PTFE tape where petrol is present? I have a small weep on the fuel tap for my outboard. Some say that PTFE tape will be ok, while others tell me it will dissolve in petrol.

Can I use PTFE tape?

Cleaning my speed log

A I understand your trepidation. I have done this many times and still get a little flutter of doubt every time I do it. Firstly, do you have the blanking plug to hand? This should be mounted next to or near the transducer. If you don’t have this, you can still do it using a softwood bung but you need to be careful that you don’t wedge it in too hard and break the housing. With your blanking plug or bung in hand, undo the top of the transducer fully. You might get a very slight weep of water but nothing much will happen at this stage. Once fully undone the important thing is to draw the log out smoothly and in one motion. These logs have a small plastic flap that partially blocks the flow of water when the log is removed, but if you only half withdraw the log the flap can’t do its job and you’ll let more water in than is necessary. Once the log is out, go straight in with the blanking plug or bung and the water will stop. Do it well and you should get less than a litre of water inside the boat that can easily be mopped out when you have finished. Clean the paddle wheel and reverse the process, ensuring the arrow on top of the paddlewheel faces forwards. What you will be most surprised about is how little pressure there is in the water coming in. If all goes wrong you can simply stick your hand over the log and stop the water using very little force.

Q My Raymarine speed log isn’t reading, just showing zero knots all the time, and I have been told that I can take it out to clean it when afloat. I’m a bit nervous about doing this as surely I will have trouble stemming what must be quite a jet of water coming in. Can you put my mind at rest. Will I be able to do this without risking sinking my boat?

A PTFE is ok to use where both petrol and diesel is present, as it offers good chemical resistance to both. My only concern would be the possibility of bits of it breaking off and entering the fuel system. As long as it is before the fuel filter this should be fine but if it is after, I would suggest using it very carefully.

Don’t be afraid to pull the speed transducer out when afloat. The water ingress isn’t that great. With your paddlewheel removed and the blanking plug in place, you can clean away any fouling and ensure that it runs freely

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Motorboat Owner 51 50 December 2015

It was around 1989, the exact year seems to have been lost on the mists of time, when Tim Hobbs was asked

by a friend to accompany him, from their home in Guernsey to the UK, on a boat buying trip. The boat in question was a Coronet 270 Family and it was one of a number of boats being liquidated after the builder, Coronet, had gone bust. The boat was being sold out of Bucklers Hard, along with at least one other 270, a 33 and a 38.

Rumour has it that there were three 270 Family’s in the UK with the names Silver Cloud 1, 2 and 3. The boat that was being collected was a dealer demo boat, Silver Cloud 1. It is known that Silver Cloud 3 also ended up in Guernsey, but the fate of Silver Cloud 2 is unclear. The 270 Family was one of the last models produced by Coronet in this period, and Silver Cloud 1 was hull number 001 and was originally powered by a single Volvo Penta AD41

200hp diesel. The model was a revamp and redesign of the 26 Family from the 1970’s and, despite its similarity to the Coronet 27 Seafarer, was built on an entirely different hull, being both shorter and narrower than the Seafarer. The Coronet name did resurface again, with a limited attempt to reintroduce new versions of earlier models, but as far as we are aware no boat has left a factory wearing a Coronet badge since 2003.

Having helped his friend with the delivery, Tim then spent further time aboard that year when he went on Holiday to Brittany aboard the boat. Around four years later, the owner sold Silver Cloud 1 due to a divorce and so ended Tim’s first association with the boat. Silver Cloud 1 then changed hands numerous times, but all the while remaining in Guernsey waters. Then, sometime around 1999, Tim heard that the boat, now named Double

“24 years after helping the original owner deliver the boat to Guernsey, I found the Coronet languishing in a field”

Tim Hobbs Coronet 270 Family

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Motorboat Owner 53 52 December 2015

Dutch II, had sunk on its mooring in the QE2 marina. The wreck was sold to a local marine company and the boat, minus its engine and drive, then spent the next three years untouched and in a very sorry state on the pier overlooking the marina. For many boat’s this would probably have been the end of its story, but the Coronet still had a few chapters up its sleeve. After languishing on the pier, it was bought by another local who put it in the water

and towed it to the nearby island of Sark. Here it was lifted out, but yet again it was left untouched. Again it changed hands a couple of times, including a guy named Kevin, who took ownership of the boat for a second time in its life, but again it didn’t get any attention and was looking less and less likely to ever see the water again. Then one day in the summer of 2013 Tim was on Sark for the annual sheep racing weekend when he stumbled across the Coronet in a field sitting on an old

trailer. “It was in a pretty sorry state, and it looked like someone had been living in it at some time. It was full of water and literally hundreds of empty beer cans” Tim told us, “and despite her condition I saw some potential in her”. Tim started to ask around to find out who the current owner was, and was eventually put in touch with Kevin. “I asked if it was for sale and Kevin replied that I could have it for £800. I didn’t argue and put a cheque in the post the next day”. It was August 2013 and over the next couple of weeks Tim visited Sark twice in preparation of bringing the Coronet home, using the trips to empty the boat of water and rubbish, plug up holes in the hull, and making the rotten aft deck safe to walk on. “A local wanted the trailer so I did a deal with him and he towed it down to Sark’s Creux Harbour and launched it in return for the trailer”. As well as having some previous history with this particular boat, Tim has his own boating history, which started with a little NAB17. He later progressed onto a Wilson Flyer, which he completely fitted

out, before making his own boat from scratch, including the hull moulds. The skills learnt during ownership of these last two boats would go on to serve him well with the Coronet, but at the time of buying it he was the owner of another Coronet, a 1968 24 that he used to tow his new boat back from Sark with. Once back in Guernsey, Tim beached the boat on the drying hard in St Peter Port where he pressure cleaned it inside and out,

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The 270 Family has always been in and around Guernsey but had not spent all of its time above the water

Before it could be taken back to Guernsey, Tim had to repair some holes and strengthen the rotten floor The 270 was towed from Sark to Guernsey

behind Tim’s other Coronet, a 24

After passing through numerous owners, the Coronet was left abandoned in a field on Sark

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Motorboat Owner 55 54 December 2015

desperately needed. During that time Tim removed all of the interior woodwork, stripped it, re varnished it and replaced it. Nearly all of the woodwork we see today is original, apart from one or two bits that were beyond saving. The cabin floor was rotten so Tim upgraded it to teak and holly. Tim was keen to keep the boat as original as possible, but conceded to make a couple of changes where it would improve the boat. To this end, the interior is almost exactly the same layout as it left the factory, apart from the helm, which was modified slightly to allow for all the extra electronics that modern boats require. Tim is a fisherman so he wanted to have the latest kit and the ability to have dedicated units for separate jobs. The result is that the helm now packs a pair of eight inch Garmin multifunction displays, with a further one out in the cockpit, all networked together. The rest of the boat’s interior has been sympathetically restored to its former glory, although Tim has added some nice hidden touches, like his

dedicated rod locker under the forward bunk. Tim did suffer one minor setback in this area. “I was replacing the windscreen wiper motor into the glass and there must have been something trapped beneath it because, as I tightened it up, the glass

shattered. I had a new one made from toughened glass and unfortunately the tint doesn’t match”. This is one of those niggles that only a fastidious owner would worry about. In fact if Tim hadn’t pointed it out, I would never have twigged, even

Tim fabricated a new fibreglass arch and also replaced the loose wood panelled cockpit floor with GRP

before putting it on a trailer and towing it to its new home inside a temporary tarpaulin tent in St Sampson. During the next 15 months Tim spent 20 hours a week, every week, on the Coronet. At last she was getting the attention she so

The interior was stripped and rebuilt, using much of the original woodwork. Almost everything was replaced to the original spec and design, with just a couple of exceptions

For 15 months the Coronet resided under a makeshift shelter while Tim restored her

Back in St Peter Port, the boat was beached and cleaned before being taken to St Sampson by road

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Motorboat Owner 57 56 December 2015

after he pointed me in the right direction and asked if I noticed anything. The rest of the windows are still held in with their original seals and despite the years of neglect there is not a single leak evident. When it came to looking for an engine, Tim knew what he wanted. He had repowered his previous Coronet with a Volvo Penta KAD32 and knew that he wanted the 6 cylinder equivalent for his new boat. “The boat originally had a

200hp AD41, but I really wanted either a 260hp KAD44 or a 285hp KAD300”, Tim explains. “I found a RIB for sale locally that had a 600 hour KAD300 fitted and, after some negotiations, I agreed to buy the engine, DPG drive and stainless steel props for £10,000 on the proviso that the owner remove them from the boat and deliver them to Island Marine Craft, where they would be stored and cleaned up, ready for installation”. The RIB owner

subsequently sold the engineless boat on to an outboard sales company who were going to put a big outboard on the back. Out in the cockpit Tim completely replaced the cockpit floor, changing it from numerous wooden lift out hatches to a flush fiberglass deck with two hinged lids, one for the engine bay and another for access to the boats new fiberglass fuel tank, built and installed by Tim, and lazarette. The whole cockpit was then laid in synthetic teak and finished with a pair of self draining GRP lockers, one on either side, the port one of which has been thermally lined and now serves as Tim’s fish locker. The original engine room vents were forward facing on the aft end of each sidedeck and, because of their position, let in water. “They must have leaked from day one” Tim said, “so I blocked them off and relocated them to within the cockpit”. Another big job that Tim tackled was the addition of the wheel shelter cum radar arch. “I needed something to mount the aerials and radar onto and I also wanted a bit of shelter for when I am fishing

out in the cockpit”, Tim explained. The result is excellent and I would challenge anyone, who doesn’t know the model, to pick it out as an after market add on. The way that Tim has mirrored the lines of the cabin below means it looks every bit original and is a credit to his fibreglassing skills. Other external additions include an anchor winch and a bow thruster, and

The new fibreglass deck and hatches were finished off with synthetic teak to very good effect

The arch cleverly mirrors the superstructure below and provides shelter in the cockpit, as well as somewhere to mount the aerials

Originally fitted with a 200hp AD41, the boat was engineless until Tim sourced a 285hp KAD300 and DPG drive

Tim moulded GRP deck boxes, one of which is insulated to serve as a fish locker

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Motorboat Owner 59 58 December 2015

Almost as she left the factory. Tim has only made changes to the helm to accommodate the electronics

£3k on the boat, bringing its total up to £39,000. Since being launched in March, Tim has put around 70 hours on Old Bidd, mostly with fishing trips in local waters, but he has also undertaken a few short trips to France and has had one

Fishing is Tim’s other passion and he has designed a custom cutting board for the stern rail and a bespoke rod rack under the forward berth

down below he has upgraded the boat’s battery system by installing five batteries and an inverter. To complete the boat’s fishing credentials, Tim has cleverly added a livebait well on the transom and a filleting table that slots over the aft quarter stern rails. In January 2015, the completed boat, named Old Bidd after his mum, left its temporary home and headed for St Sampson Harbour where it sat for another couple of months before being launched in March. Initially the C6 props that came with the engine and drive proved to be a bit too coarse, so Tim borrowed a set of C4’s which proved to be spot on. From buying the boat until getting it launched Tim estimates it has cost him around £36k, with the engine and electronics accounting for around half of that. Since launch he has replaced the turbo and exhaust elbow and in total spent a further

overnighter in Dielette. So is Tim happy with how the boat has turned out? “She will do 35 knots flat out” Tim tells us, and the way he was enjoying working the throttle in the chop of St Peter Port gives me the answer to that question.

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CUTTING the latest boating gear and technology

Motorboat Owner © Digital Marine Media Ltd 61 60 December 2015

Mirka Deros 5650CVClaimed to be the world’s lightest electric sander in its class, the Deros features a brushless motor, combined with a new premium ceramic abrasive, called Q.Silver Ace, designed to achieve fast and efficient sanding of surfaces such as wood and composites. Its design means your hand is close to the vertical surface, delivering good control and grip, and a new backing pad promises better dust extraction.Price from £395 www.mirka.com

Waeco CRX

The humble boat fridge has finally evolved. The new Waeco CRX refrigerator from Dometic Marine has a unique feature. The freezer compartment can be removed if it’s not required, providing more fridge space. Conversely, the whole fridge can also be reduced down to -8°C turning it into a large freezer-only unit. It’s available in sizes from 45 litre up to 136 litre with a standard, or newly designed stainless steel door.Price £670 (CRX80) www.dometic.co.uk

Solent Cruising CompanionThe Solent is undoubtedly one of our most popular cruising areas, so it is surprising to find that the last Solent Cruising Companion went out of print three years ago. Fully updated with new charts and useful aerial photography, the third edition is the perfect pilot guide for South coast based motorboaters and would make an ideal stocking filler for the hard-to-buy-for boater in your life.Price £34.99 www.fernhurstbooks.com

Henri Lloyd Flex 3D JacketAre you looking for a warm boat jacket this winter? The new, award-winning Henri Lloyd Flex 3D Jacket features thermal, non-flattening ‘spiral’ wadding for extra warmth, plus extra stretch yarn, fabric and thread for ease of movement. It is available in black, and sizes S-XXXL. Price £140 www.henrilloyd.com

Excel Voyager LiteExcel Inflatables has launched a new range of tender RIBs with lightweight aluminium hulls. The Excel Voyager Lite boats are made with 3mm aluminium, which is TIG welded and powder coated before being oven cured. The result is not only lightweight, but also corrosion resistant and extremely durable. The range currently consists of models between 2.4m and 4.2m.Price from £1,149 www.excel-inflatables.co.uk Seaview

If you are looking for an antenna mount, then you’ll be glad to hear that Interform Marine is now acting as UK distributor for the Seaview range. This US range consists of single item pods right up to the Dual Mount range, which can house two large antennas, plus a variety of smaller aerials, as well as lights. If you need to mount something above decks, Interform should be able to help.Price from £258interform-marine.co.uk

Aurora flaresCrewsaver has teamed up with Pains Wessex to launch a brand new range of leisure boat pyrotechnic flares. The Aurora range consists of red and white handhelds, Orange Handsmoke, Lifesmoke buoyant daylight distress, and red parachute rockets, as well as a Sky

Lite 2 Star Aerial Distress, which delivers two red aerial flares, and the Day and Night Distress, which has a red handheld at one end and an orange smoke

at the other. The flares are also

available in a variety of

different flare packsPrice from £8.75crewsaver.com

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Motorboat Owner © Digital Marine Media Ltd 6362 December 2015

HOW TO

Outboard Project

I f you have been following our project boat saga, you will know that I came away from our first trip out with a reservation or two about the engine. Once we got it running correctly it was fine, it’s just that I found that 20hp was either too much power for the river, or too little for going coastal. As we most definitely want to take Olive to sea, I decided that we needed the biggest engine we could fit, up to the boat’s maximum rating of 40hp, but without adding too much weight for reasons of

about my new plan, and the problem I was going to have in finding a suitable engine, when he informed me that he knew of a long shaft 35hp Johnson that was available now, and even better, locally. There was just one small problem, the engine was seized solid. It turns out that the engine had come off a boat that had been left for some time, possibly years, without any attention. Not only was the engine itself seized, but the motor was seized onto the boat and had to be cut off. I could have it for a sum equal to its value in parts and so I decided to take a punt. As far as I see it, there are three ways an engine can become seized like this. It could, as I have been told, just be neglect with the pistons becoming seized due to rust forming in the cylinders. It could have been on a boat that had sunk, in which case the crankcase is full of salt water, or it could be heat seized either through lack of cooling or because someone forgot to mix two-stroke oil into the fuel. I was hoping it was going to be the former, willing to accept the latter, and keeping my fingers crossed it was not the middle one, which would have effectively made the engine

towing and trailer weight. It turns out that there is an engine that could be the perfect solution. Back in the 80’s, OMC, the makers of Johnson and Evinrude outboards, supplied an engine that was effectively the same as what we had, but that produced 35hp. If I could get one of those, we would almost double our power with zero weight penalty. The trouble is, old engines like this are, well old, and finding a really nice one is going to be rather difficult. I was chatting to a friend

scrap. The good thing about these older OMC engines is that spares are readily available so, cost aside, there is no reason, as long as it hadn’t spent time in Davy Jones locker, that I couldn’t get this motor running again. As I was hoping it was nothing more than a bit of cylinder bore rust, I started by removing the spark plugs and spraying, very liberally, some anti corrosion lubricant into each cylinder. I have freed seized outboards like this before and they are still going strong to this day, with no

Despite lubricating the cylinders the engine was seized solid. Even with an extension bar the flywheel didn’t budge

Digging a little deeper meant tackling seized bolts, one of which has sheared off

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Motorboat Owner © Digital Marine Media Ltd 6564 December 2015

Was it successful? No. After leaving it for a week there was still absolutely zero movement in the flywheel, so what I am going to do is undertake an outboard engine autopsy and, if possible, a rebuild. Until I dig a little deeper I have no way of knowing if this engine will ever turn again, or if the rebuild part of the feature will ever come to fruition. What I do know though is that in the process of trying to fix it, I’ll learn a great deal about the inner workings of a two stroke motor, how to strip it down, and hopefully, how to put it all back together again and set it up properly. There will be more stubborn bolts to tackle, and no doubt a few more will shear off in the process, but we can use these to look at various ways of tackling these problems. It may turn out that the block will need a re-bore and oversized pistons added, it may need a new crankshaft, or it may simply

require a new set of piston rings, and the cylinders re-honed. One thing is for sure, it’s going to be an interesting journey that will no doubt frustrate and annoy in equal measures. It will probably end up costing more than the engine is worth but, if all goes well, I will have the satisfaction of bringing an engine back from the dead and, for the enthusiastic DIYer, that is something it is difficult to put a price on.

Was it successful? more attention required. With the engine laid on its back, it was left for a few days for the lubricant to work around the cylinder, each day being topped up with a little more, in the hope that it would work its magic. With a socket on the flywheel nut and an extension bar added for extra leverage, I tried to see if I could get any movement. The answer was no, the flywheel would not move even a millimetre. It was clear that this was not going to be a simple fix and it was time to start looking at delving a little deeper. What I have worked out is that the chances of this engine having spent time underwater are very slim. Everything about the condition of the components under the cowl indicates to me that it has remained above the surface. My next step was to remove the cylinder head. I needed to see inside the cylinders and get my first glimpse of the trouble I would be facing. I started by removing the cylinder head cover, which is held onto the cylinder head with 11 small bolts, or rather it should be. Mine was held on with 10, as the one at the very bottom had

sheared off during some previous attempt to remove it. Not to be put off I gradually loosened the 10 remaining bolts, all of which were corroded in place to some extent, and was happy that I managed to remove 9 without shearing any more off. The one I failed on would be added to the list of things to tackle should I ever reach the rebuild stage. The cylinder head cover didn’t reveal as much as I had hoped, apart from the fact that the thermostat was little more than a collection of useless metal, so next I removed the 10 cylinder head bolts, after first removing the coil packs. Despite the bolts being tight, all came out without any further problems. Now I was hoping to be able to see exactly what the problem was, but actually found very little. The cylinder walls looked almost completely free of corrosion and there were none of the score marks that you would normally expect to see on a heat seized engine. Without something obvious to work on, I decided, now I had full access to the cylinders, to try once more to free them up with some lubrication. This time I filled the pots with diesel, which is said to be

Despite no obvious corrosion or heat damage, I have been unable to free it up

The thermostat has seen better days but is not the cause of our problem. Time to take the head off

one of the best lubricants you can use for this kind of job. While one cylinder could be filled, and would retain the diesel, the other was at the stage of its stroke that meant the exhaust ports were uncovered. Consequently any diesel I poured into this cylinder would run into the crankcase, but nevertheless I ensured I got as much diesel around the piston edges as I could and retreated for a few days, topping up and reapplying as necessary, to allow the diesel to do its work. With the engine laying on its back, the cylinders

were filled with diesel and left for a week

Motorboat Owner © Digital Marine Media Ltd 6766 December 2015

Coaster 720 GT Length (LOA): 6.8m / 22ft 4inBeam: 2.5m / 8ft 3inDisplacement: 1800kg (ex engine)Fuel capacity: 200 litresWater capacity: 77 litresRCD category: CEngine as tested: Single Suzuki DF150Other engine options:Single outboard from 40hp to 200hpPrice from £34,995 As tested £49,635

BOAT TEST

Motorboat Owner © Digital Marine Media Ltd 6968 December 2015

When it seems that every other person is bemoaning the fact that many builders see ‘entry

level’ as keeping it as near to 40 foot as possible, it’s very refreshing to see a new launch like the Coaster 720 Gran Turismo. Not only is it a new boat that is truly ‘entry level’, it is also packed full of new design features and innovations that make this 22 footer a genuinely affordable and compact family cruiser. The Coaster range is built in Poland by Corsiva, the same people that supply the Corsiva range of inexpensive ‘Dutch sloop style’ open river boats and, just like them, Coaster boats offer a feel and build quality that belies their budget pricing. You can buy a Coaster 720GT ex engine from as little as £28,995 and, with engine options going right down to 40hp for a river based version, that means that you and your

conditions. When the double berth is required, this ladder simply folds down to become part of the support for the infill cushion. The small, slightly sloping, foredeck comes with a very efficient non-slip surface, a deep anchor locker with bow roller, a raised toe rail and a sturdy pair of cleats. There is also a short pulpit rail and you can also turn this area into a sun pad with some optional bow cushions. family could be cruising in a brand new

boat for under £35k. You can’t fail to notice that the 720GT is not like most other compact cruisers. It’s rather unorthodox looks allow the builders to deliver a boat small enough to trail, but that has an enclosed ‘hard top’ style wheelhouse, four berths and a surprising amount of usable space. Under the low flat foredeck you will find a large cuddy style berth that can be set up as two singles or, with the use of an infill, a decently sized double. In between the berths,

“An affordable and versatile hardtop cruiser that’s suitable

for coastal or inland use”

at the forward end, there is a ladder that allows easy, and in fact the only, access to the foredeck through the middle section of the windscreen, which hinges open. As well as gaining full access to the foredeck, this window also allows a crew member to access the forward cleats and bow rail to deploy fenders and lines without completely leaving the safety of the cabin, a useful feature on a small boat in choppy

The 720GT offers a sociable and practical cockpit and the foredeck can be equipped with sunpads

An opening windscreen allows safe and easy foredeck access

Motorboat Owner © Digital Marine Media Ltd 7170 December 2015

A family sized dinette, beneath which you have a dedicated wakeboard locker

The forward berth can be used as two singles or a large double. The removable ladder allows foredeck access

The fender storage baskets on our test boat are very useful but they did stop the anchor locker opening fully and therefore staying open on its own. You may also find that with fenders in situ, they restrict forward visibility a little. Beneath the forward part of the berth there is a deep lined storage locker, and within this there are hatches to allow

access to the forward bilge and the optional, and very reasonably priced at £1800, bow thruster. Under the starboard side cushion the builders have installed a sea toilet as standard, together with a holding tank. The toilet is tucked away under the helm but still offers only limited privacy. Having said that, on a boat of this size it is a great feature to have and you’ll just have to put the rest of the crew out in the cockpit when necessary. In the floor, stretching for most of the length of the cabin, there is a long and thin lined locker. This could be used for all sorts of storage, but if you are into fishing or watersports, it looks ready-made for rods or skis. On the port side, just above the forward berth, is a navigator’s seat. This would squeeze two on if required but is really comfy for one. It feels a long way

forward, and is in front of the helm in fact, but offers a good position for crew to tend to their watch keeping duties with a well placed grab rail and the convenience of a cup holder and small cubbyhole/glove box right in front. Below the nav seat there is an enclosed fire extinguisher locker and, with the backrest flipped forward, this seat becomes part of the dinette that is located just aft. This will seat four at a push with two on the forward seat and a further two on a second aft bench. Beneath the dinette there is a large storage locker that is said to be specifically designed to fit a wakeboard. If you are not into wakeboarding this locker would be the perfect place to store the dinette’s infill cushions that turn it into a second sleeping area, either a large single or cosy double. A nice touch here is a pair of 12 volt sockets, one to be used on or around the dinette, and another that faces out into the cockpit. On a boat of this size you would normally only expect to find a single socket at the helm. Beneath the aft dinette bench seat is where the optional, although I would argue almost compulsory, 12 volt fridge. This places it perfectly for the small galley unit

A sea toilet and holding tank are standard. Privacy when in use will need some planning

The forward dinette seat converts to provide a double forward facing navigator’s seat

opposite. A nice touch is that the aft bench backrest also flips fore and aft, allowing it to become part of the cockpit seating on a nice day. As standard the galley consists of a small sink with cold water tap under a Corian worktop and a good size cupboard underneath. For £350 you can add the option of a single burner Origo alcohol

Motorboat Owner © Digital Marine Media Ltd 7372 December 2015

A compact galley comes as standard with a sink and pressurised cold water. Upgrades include an alcohol hob and an electric fridge

hob, a worthwhile addition even if it’s just for a cup of tea or a hot soup on a cold day. The helm is just in front of the galley and comes with a supportive ‘bucket’ helm seat that slides fore and aft, has a lifting bolster for optimum driving position, and can swivel towards the dinette to become part of the social seating when at rest. The console is simple and uncluttered and comes with a dedicated iPad mount, which could be used for navigation as long as you keep the sun from shining on the screen. There is plenty of empty console space to mount your own kit, but these

would ideally need to be surface mounted as there is no void behind this facia into which the kit and wiring could disappear. Everything else works well and all controls are easily reached and operated from the helm. The boat’s electrical circuits are controlled by cool stainless steel buttons, backlit with blue LEDs. Our boat was fitted with Suzuki electronic controls and a multi-function display that included useful features such as fuel usage, but obviously what you get depends upon the engine you choose to fit. On top of the console there is a storage locker for charts etc. This also houses a 12 volt socket and two USB outlets which is great for keeping your portable kit, including an iPad if you are using one, charged. Alongside your knee there is a collection of four storage pockets for all those bits and bobs you need to keep close to hand while helming, and under your feet there is a locker for larger or heavier items. At floor level, beneath the helm seat, is where you’ll find the boat’s main electrical panel with individual circuit breakers and master battery switches. The whole wheelhouse can be curtained

off for privacy with a canvas section across the back. A really clever feature is that steel strips have been gelled into the fibreglass along the bottoms of the windows. Magnets are then sewn into the hems of the curtains so that they stay snugly in place against the window frames, which is especially important where the windows lean steeply inwards at the top. Overhead, the whole wheelhouse roof slides forwards to turn the 720GT into an open boat. The roof can only be fixed either fully open or totally closed. When fully open, the excess material that hangs down in loops is fixed out of the way with dedicated straps that clip permanently in place on the forward most section of the roof structure. At night the whole cabin can be bathed in a cool blue light which creates a rather nice ambiance. In all, the interior of this boat is simple and basic in some ways, yet stylish and upmarket in others. The builders seem to have perfectly hit the spot between keeping the costs down, while still delivering a product that feels expensive. With the cabin only separated from the cockpit by a roll away canvas section,

the two blend effortlessly into one when you need them to. An optional teak table forms the centrepiece with a transom seat aft that stretches two thirds of the way across, to leave a walk through section for boarding and disembarking aft. When required an infill makes this seat full width and large enough to seat four. On the other side of the table another two can sit on the cabin’s aft dinette seat meaning you have a cockpit large enough for six. In the floor there are three hatches under which there are lockers for batteries on either side, and a large central locker that houses the fuel tank, the optional bow thruster

The aft dinette seat back pivots to allow it to become part of the cockpit seating

At night optional extra blue LED lights can bathe the cabin in a cool blue lighting scheme

The cabin is secured, and can be separated from the cockpit, with canvas panels

Motorboat Owner © Digital Marine Media Ltd 7574 December 2015

equipped with a fold down bathing ladder. The engine well has three neatly laid out deck fillers, one for fuel, one for water and one for waste, plus a transom shower. The fillers may not be in the easiest position to use, but it is a very neat solution and perfect for dealing with any spills. This area can be topped off with an optional watersports frame with towing eye. As well as having no side decks, the 720 is also devoid of any midships cleats. This is not a problem for mooring up, as on a small boat you can

just run springs fore and aft, but it does leave you a bit short for somewhere to tie your midships fender. Luckily there is a small clip, positioned midships on the wheelhouse roof that you can reach from the cockpit, or from inside if the roof is open, that takes care of that problem. This is especially easy to use from the helm and is therefore very useful if single-handed, but should you forget to deploy a fender, the good solid all-round rubbing strake should take the odd mooring bump in its stride. Optional equipment also extends to really useful features such as heating and windscreen demisting.

UnderwayThe 720GT can be equipped with a single outboard engine of up to 200hp. Our

“The hull grips extremely well and with the Suzuki 150hp

acceleration was brisk”

A dedicated iPad mount is a nice touch, and there is plenty of room to surface mount extra kit

battery and still has space for a few fenders and ropes. You don’t even need to remove the cockpit table to access the latter, which is a useful feature. A cockpit enclosure andbimini is a £1k option and the 720GT has aclever trick up its sleeve should you choose it. The aft bench seat lifts to reveal a storage area for the framework and canvas when it is lowered, leaving the cockpit open and completely framework free. The walk-through transom access has a small opening stainless steel framed gate that should help to keep pets and little passengers inside the boat. Out on the transom there are two areas of non-slip GRP to act as small bathing platforms either side of the engine. Both of these conceal a locker that drains into the outboard well and the starboard one is also

RPM

Knots LPH GPH MPG Range (nm)

Noise

Idle 1.4 1.2 0.26 5.39 237 611000 2.4 2.1 0.46 5.22 230 651500 3.9 3.4 0.75 5.20 229 712000 5.3 5.9 1.30 4.08 179 722500 5.9 10.4 2.29 2.58 113 733000 6.8 13.9 3.06 2.22 97 753500 9.6 19.9 4.38 2.19 96 784000 12.7 25.6 5.63 2.26 99 844500 23.0 32.1 7.06 3.26 143 905000 26.5 40.0 8.80 3.01 132 915500 30.8 56.0 12.3 2.50 110 935800 31.9 58.0 12.8 2.49 109 95

performance As tested 30% fuel 0% water 4 crew Force 2

test boat was fitted with a 150hp Suzuki and, unless you are a real speed freak or a serious watersports enthusiast, this should prove adequate for most customers. Acceleration was certainly brisk enough and, with a top speed of just over 30 knots, it is going to be a rare day when the sea is flat enough for you to use all of the horses. Like most small boats the hull would slam if you pushed it too hard but, as long as you are sensible with the power and work the throttle in choppy seas, it is more than capable of getting you places quickly and comfortably. The nice thing with a small hull is that it stays up on the plane at relatively slow speeds and, in choppy seas, you continue to sit on top of the water right down to about 12 knots and just under 4000rpm with the trim set up correctly. The

Motorboat Owner © Digital Marine Media Ltd 7776 December 2015

ENQUIRIES: Val Wyatt Marine Ltd Tel: 01189 403211 www.valwyattmarine.co.uk

also accommodate the whole family for day trips and the odd overnighter. It’s small enough to trail behind a sturdy vehicle, so the affordability also extends to mooring fees if you have the space to keep it on your drive, and with the right engine it will be equally at home as a watersports boat, as it is a cruiser. The unusual design may not appeal to everyone, but it is this design that delivers features such as the UK climate friendly enclosed wheelhouse, and that is something you often only find on much larger sportsboats. Normally I would not recommend a planing hulled outboard powered boat as an inland cruiser, but stick a little engine on the back and the Coaster would be a great family boat for the river.

hull grips extremely well and delivers ultra tight turns if required, but it did sometimes give the impression that too much power in too tight a turn would result in the back end slipping out. The boat delivered its best cruise at around 4500rpm with a speed of 23 knots. The Suzuki delivered smooth and quiet power at the bottom end and up to cruising speed, but sound levels increased as the revs rose, leading to a rather noisy flat out run. The seated driving position is good and with the roof open you are able to stand with your head out for slow speed and close quarters manoeuvring. The wheelhouse provides excellent shelter as you would expect, but this continues all the way aft, so that even those sitting on the transom seat can enjoy a dry ride with minimal wind blast. The steering was quite heavy on our test boat, particularly when fighting the torque of the engine at speed. This could be overcome with an upgrade to a power assisted hydraulic steering system, something that would definitely be worth considering if you were going for an outboard of this size or larger. Like all boats with an enclosed helm there

is some compromise when it comes to visibility. The large mullions and bulky superstructure mean that at times you can experience some large blind spots. This is particularly apparent when cornering tightly with the roof closed, where you cannot see much at all on the inside of the turn. With the roof open this problem disappears, as you simply look out over the top.

ConclusionThe Coaster 720GT is a clever boat that packs so much into a compact and very affordable package. As a weekender it offers everything a couple would need, and will

Watersports fans can opt for the water ski mast Sporty performance, practical features and cost effective to run and moor. What’s not to like?

As an entry level cruiser, the 720GT won’t disappoint and I have a strong feeling that this is just the sort of boat that will set you on the path to a life long love of boating, and that’s no bad thing.

Bella Falcon 26 Fantino

> neXT monTH

LOA: 6.65mBeam: 2.68mDisplacement: 1800kg (ex eng)Enquiries: MGM BoatsTel: 02380 456318www.mgmboats.comPRICE from £56,300

LOA: 7.51mBeam: 2.60mDisplacement: 2100kg (ex eng)Enquiries: T L Harvey LtdTel: 0121 568 8837www.tlharvey.comPRICE from £75,400

Add another metre or so and you can get a bit more space all around, including a separate toilet compartment.

Aquador 22 CabinThe 22 has a similar layout to the 720 and benefits from solid wheelhouse doors. The roof is fixed butyou do get twin sunroofs

Flipper 670ST

LOA: 6.66mBeam: 2.48mDisplacement: 1200kg (ex eng)Enquiries: T L Harvey LtdTel: 0121 568 8837www.tlharvey.comPRICE from £53,350

The 670ST is a more open boat than the 720, but can be fully enclosed under a canopy. Power is from an outboard of up to 250hp

Viking 275

You maY aLSo LIKe

2009 Jetten 37ACSingle Yanmar 75hp Diesel. 4 berths, 2 separate showers, bowthruster, heating, holding tank, gas hob oven & grill, battery charger, chartplotter

£119,9502002 SeAline S42Twin Volvo Penta KAD300 Diesels. 6 berths, Bowthruster, heating, chartplotter, battery charger, teak cockpit floor & bathing platform

2001/02 FAirline PhAntom 38Twin Volvo Penta TAMD 63P. 6 berths, heating, battery charger, speed/depth radar, gps, chartplotter, autopilot, anchor winch

£119,950

Penton Hook Marine Sales, Penton Hook Marina, Staines Road, Chertsey, Surrey, KT16 8PQ

01932 570055sales@pentonhooksales.co.uk

See 100’s of boats for sale at www.tbsboats.com

Boats purchased. Part exchange available on all boats

Brand new Sealine S330

2007

Single Volvo Penta D6 330hp Diesel. In Stock. Great Specifi cation. Penta D6 330hp Diesel. In Stock. Great Specifi cation.

Formerly www.thamesboatsales.co.uk

Twin Volvo Penta Kad 300. 6 berths, blue hull, bow thruster, heating. Great Condition. Please call for viewing. £124,950

2004 Sealine S42

Twin Volvo Penta D3 220hp Diesels. Huge Specification.

Brand new Sealine C330

Twin Volvo Penta 170hp Diesels.6 berths, radar, gps, chartplotter, heating, bowthruster. £92,500.

2005/06 Sealine S34

with Single Volvo Penta D6 330hp Diesel. in stock Great Specification.

Brand new Sealine S330with Twin Volvo Penta D6 330hp Diesels. Huge Specification.

new Sealine F380Due Soon.

Fairline Phantom 38

Twin Yanmar 250hp Diesels. 6 berths, generator, aircon, heating, huge specification. £95,000

2004/05 CruiSerS 340

Twin TAMD 480hp Diesels. 5 berths, generator, bowthruster, air con, full nav kit £134,950

2000 Fairline targa 43

Single Volvo Penta 4.3 V6 petrol. Special offer pric £31,500

2015 Four winnS h180 BowriderTwin Volvo Penta Kad 43 260hp. Diesels. 6 berths, full nav kit, holding tank, folding radar arch. £114,950

2004/05 galeon 380.

Single Yanmar 75hp Diesel. 4 berths, heating, bow / stern thrusters, inverter low hrs from new. £149,950

2009 Jetten 37aC

Twin Volvo Penta D4 260hp. 5 berths, heating, bowthruster, radar, gps, plotter. £169,950. ‘2013 SC35 due in soon’.

2011 Sealine SC35

Library Picture

Penton hook.indd 1 15/10/2015 13:17

Penton Hook Marine Sales, Penton Hook Marina, Staines Road, Chertsey, Surrey, KT16 8PQ

01932 570055sales@pentonhooksales.co.uk

See 100’s of boats for sale at www.tbsboats.com

Boats purchased. Part exchange available on all boats

Brand new Sealine S330

2007

Single Volvo Penta D6 330hp Diesel. In Stock. Great Specifi cation. Penta D6 330hp Diesel. In Stock. Great Specifi cation.

Formerly www.thamesboatsales.co.uk

Twin Volvo Penta Kad 300. 6 berths, blue hull, bow thruster, heating. Great Condition. Please call for viewing. £124,950

2004 Sealine S42

Twin Volvo Penta D3 220hp Diesels. Huge Specification.

Brand new Sealine C330

Twin Volvo Penta 170hp Diesels.6 berths, radar, gps, chartplotter, heating, bowthruster. £92,500.

2005/06 Sealine S34

with Single Volvo Penta D6 330hp Diesel. in stock Great Specification.

Brand new Sealine S330with Twin Volvo Penta D6 330hp Diesels. Huge Specification.

new Sealine F380Due Soon.

Fairline Phantom 38

Twin Yanmar 250hp Diesels. 6 berths, generator, aircon, heating, huge specification. £95,000

2004/05 CruiSerS 340

Twin TAMD 480hp Diesels. 5 berths, generator, bowthruster, air con, full nav kit £134,950

2000 Fairline targa 43

Single Volvo Penta 4.3 V6 petrol. Special offer pric £31,500

2015 Four winnS h180 BowriderTwin Volvo Penta Kad 43 260hp. Diesels. 6 berths, full nav kit, holding tank, folding radar arch. £114,950

2004/05 galeon 380.

Single Yanmar 75hp Diesel. 4 berths, heating, bow / stern thrusters, inverter low hrs from new. £149,950

2009 Jetten 37aC

Twin Volvo Penta D4 260hp. 5 berths, heating, bowthruster, radar, gps, plotter. £169,950. ‘2013 SC35 due in soon’.

2011 Sealine SC35

Library Picture

Penton hook.indd 1 15/10/2015 13:17

£144,950

Penton Hook Marine Sales, Penton Hook Marina, Staines Road, Chertsey, Surrey, KT16 8PQ

01932 570055sales@pentonhooksales.co.uk

See 100’s of boats for sale at www.tbsboats.com

Boats purchased. Part exchange available on all boats

Brand new Sealine S330

2007

Single Volvo Penta D6 330hp Diesel. In Stock. Great Specifi cation. Penta D6 330hp Diesel. In Stock. Great Specifi cation.

Formerly www.thamesboatsales.co.uk

Twin Volvo Penta Kad 300. 6 berths, blue hull, bow thruster, heating. Great Condition. Please call for viewing. £124,950

2004 Sealine S42

Twin Volvo Penta D3 220hp Diesels. Huge Specification.

Brand new Sealine C330

Twin Volvo Penta 170hp Diesels.6 berths, radar, gps, chartplotter, heating, bowthruster. £92,500.

2005/06 Sealine S34

with Single Volvo Penta D6 330hp Diesel. in stock Great Specification.

Brand new Sealine S330with Twin Volvo Penta D6 330hp Diesels. Huge Specification.

new Sealine F380Due Soon.

Fairline Phantom 38

Twin Yanmar 250hp Diesels. 6 berths, generator, aircon, heating, huge specification. £95,000

2004/05 CruiSerS 340

Twin TAMD 480hp Diesels. 5 berths, generator, bowthruster, air con, full nav kit £134,950

2000 Fairline targa 43

Single Volvo Penta 4.3 V6 petrol. Special offer pric £31,500

2015 Four winnS h180 BowriderTwin Volvo Penta Kad 43 260hp. Diesels. 6 berths, full nav kit, holding tank, folding radar arch. £114,950

2004/05 galeon 380.

Single Yanmar 75hp Diesel. 4 berths, heating, bow / stern thrusters, inverter low hrs from new. £149,950

2009 Jetten 37aC

Twin Volvo Penta D4 260hp. 5 berths, heating, bowthruster, radar, gps, plotter. £169,950. ‘2013 SC35 due in soon’.

2011 Sealine SC35

Library Picture

Penton hook.indd 1 15/10/2015 13:17

neW SeAline S330Single Volvo Penta D6 330hp Diesel – 20 hrsCruising PackComfort PackEntertainment pack inc Digital TV AerialRaymarine A97 PlotterRaymarine 260 VhfCockpit bbqMicrowaveEberspacher D4 HeatingWellington walnut saloon floor, with over carpetsVinyl hull wrap

neW SeAline F380Twin Volvo Penta D6 330hp Diesel – 30 hrsEntertaining PackCruising PackComfort PackNavigation Pack inc AutopilotD4 Eberspacher HeatingRaymarine HD RaydomeAISExterior CushionLeather saloon upholstery

retAil PriCe £350,977SPeCiAl oFFer PriCe

£319,000 inc VAt

retAil PriCe £199,615SPeCiAl oFFer PriCe

£179,000 inc VAt

SeAline SC35’S 2011 & 2013Prices from £159,950 both fitted with Volvo Penta D4 260hp Diesels. Both boats have great overall specifications

See Sealine at the london Boat Show 2016. Sealine are exhibiting the S330, C330 & F380 Stand A144

liBrArY Photo

New and Used Boats for Sale

01189 403211 Call our friendly team to arrange an appointment to view any of the used boats for sale below – or visit our website for this month’s complete range www.valwyattmarine.co.uk

Bayliner / 175 GTGreat package with trailer, 135hp with 54hrs, radio & bimini2011 | £13,995 | 17.5ft | 5.3m

Broom / 32PRICE REDUCED. 6 berth spacious cruiser with 50hp diesel1985 | £39,995 | 32ft | 9.8m

Corsiva / 590 TenderSpacious day boat with inboard/outboard 20hp Tohatsu2013 | £15,000 | 19.4ft | 5.9m

Sheerline/1020Luxurious cruiser with spacious cockpit, 3 cabins & 6 berths2007 | £98,000 | 33ft | 10.6m

Interboat / 22 ClassicRare version with toilet, bowthruster, fridge, radio & bimini2005 | £27,500 | 22ft | 6.8m

Interboat / Intender 760Almost every extra added & only 17hrs. Truly As New2014 | £44,500 | 25ft | 7.7m

Broom / 38 OceanHigh coastal spec, new canopies,6 berth, excellent condition1998 | £129,950 | 38.5ft | 11.7m

Intercruiser / 28 CabrioPerfect social cruiser with full facilities. 42hp Vetus, only 60hrs2015 | €120,500 | 28ft | 8.5m

Val Wyatt Marine, Willow Marina, Willow Lane, Wargrave, Berkshire, RG10 8LH | info@valwyattmarine.co.uk | www.valwyattmarine.co.uk

GREAT CHOICE OF BOAT BRANDS • FRIENDly, ExpERT ADvICE • OpEN SEvEN DAyS A wEEk 01189 403211

Discover the essence of relaxed river life with Val Wyatt MarineFrom our superb family-owned site at Willow Marina we cater for your every boating need. As well as an impressive range of river boat brands – including the handmade Interboat – we offer moorings, maintenance, on-site refreshments and local produce for that all-important picnic, and much more.

Just go with the flow and call in soon!

See us at stand D150

Motorboat Owner © Digital Marine Media Ltd 81

Pyrford Marina01932 343 275River Wey, Surrey

Stourport Marina01299 827 082

Stourport on Severn

Walton Marina01932 221 689

Walton on Thames

SCAN HERE

to view ourboats for sale

Thames & Kennet MarinaCaversham LakesHenley Road

Reading, BerkshireRG4 6LQ

0118 947 7770

Windsor Racecourse MarinaMaidenhead Road

WindsorBerkshireSL4 5HT

01753 851717

Upton MarinaUpton upon SevernWorcestershire

WR8 0PB01684 593111

NEW CRUISER AGENTS FOR:-

RG4 9RA

Viking 275 - New Boat - Mariner 40EFIA fantastic family river cruiser with full bathing platform andtransom boarding. Interior with 3 cabins and 6 berths, Inventoryincludes Bow thruster, Holding Tank , Heating, Shore Power andBattery Charger Afloat to view at Caversham.STAND B140 LONDON £61,588 incVAT

Viking 215 – New Boat – Mariner 20hpThe 215 offers 6’headroom throughout, a 4 berth design, galley andshower/toilet room with cockpit seating for 5 and bathing platformboarding. Inventory with Hot & Cold water, oven, hob, grill & fridge. Agreat package that is also trailerable,View at the LondonBoat Show - Call for Tickets £34,083 incVat

Sessa C30 – 2007 – TwinVolvo D3 -190 DieselsLemar Bow Thruster, Raymarine C80 Chart plotter, Holding Tank,New Canopy, Just Serviced, An immaculate 4 berth sports cruiserat home inland or on the coast, Large Cockpit with seating for 6 inease, Cabin with separate mid cabin and toilet room.£69,950

Stevens 1240DL – 1999 - Perkins Sabre 135L FBow/Stern Thrusters. bow and stern thrusters. ThisDutch steel cruiser been restored to a verystandard. With comfortable accommodationand sleeping for 7. Two owners from new£135,950

Viking Seamaster 28- 2012 - 40HP Honda 2013A great family boat that will navigate the entire widebeam UK inland waterway system with 6 berths £44,500 - Also 2013 INBOARD AT £69,500VISIT THE TINGDENE / VIKING STAND AT THE

LONDON BOAT SHOW - NEW Viking 295

Viking 24 – 1998 – Honda 30 (2012) . A very tidyexample of the Viking 24 with a new outboard in 2012 with fullservice history, Features 4 berths, Hot and cold water, spaciouscockpit with sunbed conversion. A good family riverboat offered ata competitive figure. Afloat and ready to trial. £19,950

Gobbi 345sc – 2002 – TwinVolvo KAD 43-230 DieselsFeaturing Autopilot, Plotter, New Teak on bathing platform, Newcockpit and cabin upholstery, New canopies, Toilet waste tank, The345 is a very spacious boat with 4 berths and saloon, open plan tofore cabin, easy deck and transom access, in immaculate order.£69,950

Sealine S28 – 1999 – TwinVolvo 170hpA very tidy S 28 with new canopies and cockpit upholstery, fullysurveyed and new boat safety certificate, a spacious cabin with 4berths and cockpit with seating for 6 in comfort.£49,950

AQUALINE VOYAGER 60 - 2011 -Beta 150hpA superb 2 cabin, 2 en suite, saloon, galley and wheelhouse barge. Perfect for European cruising Astounding specification - £219,000

ONE OF 3 BARGES AND 6 WIDE BEAMS AVAILABLE AT THAMES & KENNET MARINA

Viking 24 Highline - 2012 Mercury 25hp o4 berths, Teak laid cockpit, LED lighting, Flipback helm seat, Cut outHull sides for easy boarding. Excellent condition£32,950

SEALINE S34 - 1999 - Twin Volvo KAD43 230hpA well presented S34 with a good specificationincluding Plotter, Radar, VHF, Hydraulic gangway,New flexiteek bathing platform, Leather upholstery,New canopies, Holding tank. A popular 3 cabin craftwith excellent cockpit £74,950

Sealine 305 Statesman – 1989 - TwinVolvo200hp Diesel Engines. A popular small fly bridge cruiserwith accommodation for 6, with this power option the 305 is acapable craft for coastal use and at home on inland waters. Idealas a family craft good exterior space in the cockpit and fly bridge.£38,000

Broom Ocean 34 - 1998 - Sabre Perkins 135 A very clean and well presented 34 with 6 berths, open plan fore cabin, side door, plotter and VHF radio, canopies and soft furnishings immaculate. £89,950 1996Broom 29 - £59,950. New Broom 370 - £375,335

iF YOU ARE TRYING TO SELL A BROOM BOAT CONTACT US AS BROOM AGENTS,BOATS REQUIRED

Regal 2665 Commodore, 2004, Yanmar240hp diesel,Very low engine hours, Full canopy, Extendedbathing platform, 4 berths, Pumpout toilet,Raymarine GPS, Serviced & antifouled 2015.Viewing highly recommend. £35,950

Broom 30HT Coupe – New Boat - Nanni 65 TheAll new 30HT with full sunroof to the hard top, Graphite coloredhard top and hull, Teak cockpit, Bow thruster, Hull windows. Thecabin gives 4 berths a large toilet and galley with Corian worktops.Part Exchange possibilities –ViewatLondonBoatShowcall for tickets . £155,000 IncVat

Broom 395 Aft cabin – New Boat – TwinVolvo D4 360Split galley design with Classic interior package, Heating, Inverter,

Bow thruster, Powered folding mast, 2 Tv’s, Autopilot, VHF, GPSPlotter, Cockpit BBQ Stainless windows. The 395 offers tremendousspace with twin master cabins both with ensuite facilities, Large

galley and saloon,AVAILABLENOW £452,503 IncVat

CONTACT USSales Email:- guy.girling@tingdene.netSalesMobile:- +44(0) 7701 287046

MOORINGS ARE AVAILABLE ATANY OF OUREIGHTMARINASCONTACT TODAY TODISCUSS - marinas@tingdene.net

COME &MEET US ON STAND B 140 LONDON BOAT SHOW,TO GET YOUR NEW BERTH FOR 2016

Contact Upton

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Contact Thames & Kennet Contact Thames & Kennet

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London Boat Show 8th to 17th January 2016 ~ MARINA'S & VIKING - B140, BROOM - A140

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Motorboat OwnerA�ordable practical boating

2008 monterey 275 Sportscruiser Well maintained and lightly used. Fitted with Volvo Penta 300Hp petrol engine and duoprop outdrive.4 / 6 berth, separate toilet and shower, microwave and hob. GPS. VHF. Lying Chichester

1983 eurobanker Senator 37Twin Ford Lehman 120hp diesels.Comfortable and economical cruising yacht offering good accommodation, and excellent sea keeping abilities. Well maintained with £30K of refurbishment since 2007

£69,95007795 831825 email address

£38,95007889 204236 email address

2012 Sealine SC35 Twin Volvo D4 300hp (140hrs) with joystick. Superb hardtop sportscruiser. Limited edition. Air conditioning, generator, passerelle, full Raymarine electronics package

1983 Fairline turbo 36 Twin Volvo 235hp diesels. Garmin plotter, autopilot, radar. Hinged radar arch. BSS certificate. Seven berths with spacious master aft cabin. Excellent sea boat. Well maintained

£49,50007966 490943 email address

£165,000email address

1988 Shadow 26 Twin Volvo Penta131 petrols. Sleeps 4, with further a 2 berths in the cockpit. Shower, holding tank, gas oven grill, diesel heating. Lying Walton

1989 Sealine 328 Twin Volvo Penta AQAD41 200hp diesels. 4-6 berths with two seperate cabins. Upgrades include a new canopy and new galley work top and sink

£44,95001932 570055sales@pentonhooksales.co.uk

£14,95001932 221689waltonboatsales@tingdene.net

Motorboat Owner © Digital Marine Media Ltd 8382 December 2015

Arvor Boat Owners Clubwww.arvorboatowners.co.uk

Atlanta Boat Ownerswww.atlantaboats.co.uk

Bavaria Owners’ Associationwww.bavariaowners.co.uk

Bayliner Owners Clubwww.baylinerownersclub.org

Beneteau Owners’ Associationwww.beneteau-owners-association.org.uk

Broom Owners Clubwww.broomowners.com

Chaparral Boat Owners Forumforum.chaparralboats.com

Classic Motor Boat Associationwww.cmba-uk.com

Classic Offshore Powerboat Clubwww.classicoffshore.com

Cleopatra Owners Clubmycleopatra.ning.com

Coronet Cruisersfreespace.virgin.net/simon.sherlock/index.htm

Cranchi Owners Club & Forumcranchiownersclub.com

Dawncraft Owners Club & Forumwww.dawncraftowners.com

Dell Quay Ranger websitewww.dellquayranger.supanet.com

Electric Boat Associationwww.electric-boat-association.org.uk

Elysian Boat Ownerswww.elysianboats.co.uk

Fairey Owners Clubwww.faireyownersclub.co.uk

Fairline Owners Clubwww.fairlineownersclub.com

Fjord Clubwww.fjordclub.com

Fletcher Owners Clubfletcher-boats.co.uk/your-fletcher/owners-club

Freeman Cruisers Forumfreemanboats.forumer.com

Freeman Owners Clubwww.freemancruisers.com

Freeman Cruisersfreeman-cruisers.forumotion.co.uk

Haines Owners Clubwww.hainesmarine.co.uk/owners.php

Hampton Safari Boat Clubhamptonsafaribc.webplus.net

Hardy Owners Clubwww.hardy-owner.org.uk

Owners DirectoryJeanneau Owners Networkwww.jeanneau-owners.com

Mariah Owners Clubwww.mariahownersclub.com

Maxum Owners Clubwww.maxumownersclub.com

Microplus Boatswww.microplus.dk

Monterey Fourmforums.montereyboats.com

Moonraker Owner’s Clubwww.moonraker.dk/eng_index.htm

Nauticuswww.nauticus.co.uk

Nelson Boat Owners Clubwww.nelsonboatownersclub.co.uk

Nimbus Owners Club UKwww.nimbusowners.co.uk

Norman Appreciation Societywww.normanboats.co.uk

Princess Owners Clubprincessownersclub.com

Regal Owners Forumwww.regalownersforum.com

Relcraft Boaters Groupwww.relcraftboatersgroup.co.uk

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Owners Club missing?contact us at

Rinker Owners Clubwww.rinkerboats.com/owners-club

Sea Ray Owners Clubwww.clubsearay.comSealine Forumwww.sealineforum.co.uk

Sealine Owners Clubwww.sealineowners.com

Seamaster Clubwww.seamasterclub.co.uk

Seaward Owners Clubwww.seawardboat.com/club.html

Shetland Owners Associationwww.shetlandowners.co.uk/shetland/

Star Craft Owners Clubwww.bates-starcraft.co.uk

Sunseeker Owners Clubsunseekerownersclub.com

Viking Owners Clubwww.vikingowners.org.uk

Warrior Boats Owners Clubwww.warriorboatsownersclub.co.uk

@editorial@motorboatowner.co.uk

Motorboat Owner 85 84 December 2015

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HOW TOWinteriseW

YOUR BOAT

BY NEALE BYART

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interising is the act of protecting your boat and its equipment and contents from the ravages of the winter weather. Failing to carry out any preparation for winter can result in expensive damage to the engine, domestic water system and even your soft furnishings. The requirement to carry out any winterising will depend largely on whether you keep your boat in fresh water or salt and how far north you are in the UK. If you keep your boat in fresh water I would say that it is almost imperative to carry out some basic

winterising. With salt water the need isn’t quite so great because salt water freezes at a lower temperature than fresh, typically around –2°C. Damage is caused by water expanding as it freezes, and this expansion can crack even a solid iron engine block. I know that many people on the south coast who keep their boat in salt water do not carry out any winterising at all, and for the most part will get away with

boat over winter. A freshly serviced engine means that the boat is ready to go in the spring, it has nice clean oil protecting the engine’s inner workings, it’s a great opportunity to use up your existing engine spares and order some new ones for next season, but most importantly, it gives you lots of time to deal with any problems that might show up during a service. The sort of thing we are referring to is finding water in your outdrive oil, or worse still in your engine oil. Find a problem like this in the spring and you will be hard pressed to secure the services of a decent engineer as this is their busiest time, so you are likely to start eating into your season while waiting for repairs. Find a problem before Christmas and, expense aside, getting the repair carried out should be painless and most importantly, completed in time for the start of next season. So, how do you winterise a boat? Simply follow the steps detailed on the next few pages, or at least the ones that are relevant to your boat, and you can relax knowing that regardless of what mother nature throws at us in the coming months, your boat will remain safe and serviceable as soon as spring has sprung.

it, but is not unheard of for damage to occur even here, so I would suggest a little bit of preventative work is well worth doing to save the worry and, even remote possibility, of a large repair bill. The complete process of winterising and protecting the boat can be broken down into a number of different jobs. The most important is winterising the engine as this is where the most expensive damage can occur. Next comes the domestic water system which, because it is full of fresh water, is the most prone to damage when the temperature dips. Although tales of engine damage are thankfully quite rare, possibly because most owners do take some precautions, stories of damage to the boats freshwater supply are far more common and I have personally been caught out with this one. Next comes the interior of the boat. There are some simple steps to take to ensure the soft furnishings see it through the winter unscathed. You can simply take them home and store them, you can ensure the boat has good ventilation to keep mildew at bay or you can go the high tech route and use some form of dehumidifier. The last section is the boats exterior. It is a good idea to give the boat a wash and a coat of good quality wax at the beginning of winter as it will protect the gelcoat from airbourne contaminates and any UV over winter, meaning re-commissioning in spring should require nothing more than a quick wash and a recoat of wax. While you are on the boat and in your work clothes you may want to consider carry out some servicing. This is not strictly winterising but fits in well with it and will, in a small way, help to protect the

If we get another winter like this, will your boat be protected?

Freezing water can split metal, this is a damaged tap but it could be your engine

987

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PART 1

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On a stern drive boat you have a choice of feeding the antifreeze mix through the leg via a set of muffs, or taking an inlet pipe off inside the boat. Check first that the hose is not below the waterline if still afloat.

Outboards often have a flushing port which you can use to introduce an antifreeze mix. Alternatively use a pair of muffs or simply lower the leg into a container filled with an antifreeze mix.

Antifreeze is toxic so it should not be allowed to enter the water or soak into the ground. Try and catch the expelled antifreeze mix in a bucket. If this is not possible consider using non-toxic polyethylene glycol.

On a freshwater cooled engine the captive antifreeze mix should be changed every two years. Change it, or if it not due, check the strength to ensure it is up to the job.

Mix a solution of antifreeze and water at a ratio of 1:1. Around five litres of mixture is usually enough per engine so a 5 litre container of antifreeze should be enough for most twin engine boats.

On a shaft drive boat close the seacock and remove the raw water strainer cap. Pour the mix into the strainer with the engine running and shut the engine off just as the mix runs out.

HOW TO IN 9 STEPS

An alterative to inhibiting an engine with antifreeze is to drain it. Check your owner’s manual for the drain points on your engine and follow the instructions carefully to ensure you remove all of the raw water.

Once the engine is inhibited remove the impeller and store it for the winter to reduce distortion. Replace the pump faceplate if the boat is staying afloat to reduce the chance of water entering the engine room.

Place a sign on the helm to advise that the engine should not be started due to winterisation. This could also remind you to replace the impeller and open the seacock if required.

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Drain your domestic water tank to remove as much water as possible by running a tap. There will always be a small amount of water remaining in the bottom of the tank but this won’t cause a problem.

Remove the connections from your domestic water pump. Using a dinghy pump blow back through the inlet hose to ensure there is no water trapped in the hose from the tank to the pump.

Open one tap at a time and blow water through the pumps outlet pipe until only air comes out of the tap, then close the tap. Do this to each tap, both hot and cold not forgetting any cockpit or transom mounted taps.

HOW TO IN 9 STEPS

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If your engine is fresh water cooled the block itself should be protected with antifreeze already so you just need to displace the raw water that is trapped in the heat exchangers with an antifreeze mixture. Raw water engines will need an antifreeze solution run right through the engine so will need running up to temperature first.

The Engine

PART 2

As previously mentioned the domestic water system is most prone to frost damage. You can inhibit it with a non-toxic antifreeze but we recommend simply emptying the system completely to remove any threat of expansion damage.

Domestic water systems

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987

Manual toilets should be pumped on the dry setting to remove any water from the pump body, as these have been known to crack when water inside freezes.

To keep the seals and valves lubricated you could pour a little vegetable oil down the pan as you are excavating the water in step 7.

If you have grey or black water tanks, pump them out and leave them as empty as possible.

Remove the water pump filter and empty any water trapped inside. This is also a good opportunity to clean the filter element. Now open all of the taps and leave them open.

Most of the water in the calorifier will have been blown through, but if yours has a drain cock, open it and drain the last of the water out. If you have a gas water heater open the drain valve.

If you have any shower sumps on board, ensure they are empty. If necessary remove the lid and mop it out. Again this is a good opportunity to clean the pump filter inside.

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PART 3

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A dehumidifier will really help to keep the boat dry. You can use chemical ones if you have no power, but an electric version does a much better job. Put it on a timer for around 6 hours a day to save electricity.

Change the engine oil so that the internal components of the engine are coated in clean contaminant free lubricant. It is also an opportunity to check for major problems such as water in the oil.

It’s the same with gearbox oil on sterndrive and outboard legs. It’s not uncommon to find water in here and you don’t want that water sloping around your gears all winter.

Using a good corrosion protection product, give the engines, mechanicals and any exposed electricals a good spray. You can also grease any movable linkages and squirt some grease into any grease points.

With diesel boats, fill the tanks to the brim to reduce condensation problems. Petrol fuel tanks are best left completely empty, or if this is impractical, add some fuel stabiliser to keep the fuel fresh.

A good coat of wax all over the boats exterior should help see it into the new season with a shine and will certainly make the first wash of the year much easier.

HOW TO IN 9 STEPS

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These jobs are really more a mixture of preventative maintenance, servicing and good practice rather than strictly winterising, but it makes good sense to consider doing them while you are on a roll.

Other jobs

Many owners like to bung up exhaust and ventilation ports. This is fine but make yourself a note to remove them in the spring.

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Q&A

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Check your props for damage. Like good engineers, the people who refurbish propellers get very busy in spring so get in early if required.

Check your safety equipment. Items such as lifejackets, liferafts, PLBs, EPIRBs and fire fighting equipment all have service requirements. Winter is a good time to get this done.

Check the electrolyte levels in your batteries, top up if required and ensure that the batteries are fully charged if they are going to be left idle for any length of time.

If you are planning on using the boat throughout the winter, inhibiting the engine and domestic water supply after each use is going to be costly and time consuming. The easiest thing to do with the domestic water system is simply not use it. Take bottled water on board and use the marina facilities. If you do need to use it, perhaps see if you can decommission the most susceptible parts such as transom and cockpit outlets. If you have reliable shorepower you can put some greenhouse tube heaters in the engine room to keep frost at bay and prevent engine damage. Rather than simply running them 24/7, consider plugging them into a thermostat set at around

What about leavingthe boat in commission?

3°C so that they only come on when the temperature is getting close to freezing. You should consider blocking up the engine room vents too to help keep any warmth in. Just remember to remove the plugs before starting up. If you are going to be reliant on electric to stop your boat from freezing it is a good idea to invest in some kind of shorepower monitor that will alert you if someone unplugs your boat, or if the power supply fails. This winter we are going to be using a SIM card enabled socket called the Thermotxt from a company called Tekview, we’ll let you know how we get on.